ContraCharmed
by SwiftyGirl7474
Summary: How I think the show could have gone with Phoebe as the eldest and Prue as the youngest Charmed One.  Not all the episodes of Season 1.  Just a series of One-shot episodes that I enjoy.
1. Something Wicca This Way Comes

_AN: This is just the first episode and how I think it **could** have gone with Prue being the youngest and Phoebe as the eldest Charmed One. I had a lot of fun writing it so I thought I'd share it with everyone else. My other story is my top priority so **if** I decide to continue this it won't be updated as often as my other... probably. I probably won't go any farther unless people just absolutely love it or something. It was pretty fun to write and I hope you enjoy it at least a little. You'll notice most places that don't involve the sisters in any way were pretty much copied from my other story. It just made it easier so I hope no one dislikes that too much._

_Ages are a little different. _

_Phoebe would be 25_

_Piper is 22_

_Prue is 19 (almost 20 as her birthday is in Dead Man Dating)_

_Andy is a year above her so he just turned 21_

**Something Wicca This Way Comes**

**Selena Fredrick's Apartment**

A young woman with short blonde hair walks through her apartment carrying a tray of food and water for her cat. As she walks into her kitchen thunder can be heard accompanying the sound of rain outside the apartment.

"Come on, baby. " She calls softly as she sets the tray down. Almost immediately the cat meows and runs to the food. "Good girl." She finishes. She pets her cat and slowly stands up, careful not to step on her long dark blue dress. She walks off into an adjoining room holding a silver goblet in her hands. She kneels before the alter set up in the room and places the goblet in the middle amidst the candles and spices. With just a touch of her finger she lights the candles before her.

Outside her apartment a figure wearing a long black cloak can be seen climbing down a ladder. The heavy rain no doubt muffling the sounds of his approach.

Her concentration unbroken she begins to chant "Ancient one of the earth so deep, master of moon and sun. I shield you in my wiccan way, here in my circle round, asking you to protect this space, and offer your sun force down."

The dark figure enters the house through the kitchen effectively scaring the cat out of the room. It approaches her quietly and just as she finished the chant she spins around in panic. She sighs in relief upon recognizing the intruder.

"What are you doing here?" She asks a slight smile appearing on her face. In response the intruder pulls out a knife and plunges it into her stomach. She lets out a scream that is cut short as she is left to fall lifeless to the ground.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper Halliwell ran swiftly through the rain towards the old pink Victorian Manor that she shared with her younger sister. Her eldest sister had left for New York six months earlier after their grandmother/guardian passed away. Pushing the thoughts of her sisters out of her mind she inwardly cursed at her situation; here she was having to run through a storm wearing a dress and high heels with only a light rain jacket, and a small umbrella. On top of that, she had left Prue by herself at the house, who was sure to have thrown a party or something with her college friends. _I didn't even get the job yet…_ she thought as she ran up the steps. As she reached the front door she lowered and closed her umbrella while reaching for the door handle. She took a deep breath.

"Here we go" She whispered and opened the door. She squeezed in, quickly shutting the door behind leaving the cold rain outside. "Prue? " Piper called as she hung up her umbrella and jacket. At first she was met with silence, which was a relief since that meant Prue had actually listened to her and not invited anyone over. She looked up towards the staircase as she heard hurried footsteps and a moment later Prue came in sight.

"Hi, Piper." Prue greeted, jumping past the last step to land on the floor. Her raven-black hair was pulled back loosely with a clip while her ice blue eyes were upon the expensive camera that was strapped around her neck.

Piper sat her bags down next to the door and subconsciously pushed her damp shoulder-length brown hair away from her face. "Did the electrician come by?" She asked, her brown eyes narrowed slightly at her little sister. Prue had a tendency of missing the appointments set up, or at least being late enough that the electrician gave up on waiting and left.

Prue bit her lip slightly and looked a little guilty. "I didn't get home in time." She admitted sheepishly. She saw her older sister's eyes narrow, a sure sign that she was about to get a lecture. "But I have a good reason! Look at this." Prue insisted, rushing off into the kitchen to grab several pieces of paper off the table

Piper watched her leave; her curiosity peeked by Prue's excitement. Whatever it was, Prue at least believed that this was more important than the electrician. Slowly Piper followed her into the kitchen where Prue immediately shoved some papers into her hand.

Prue smiled expectantly as Piper read them over. One of them was her college transcript, thus far, that she had picked up after class from her adviser. Her grades were nothing short of stellar if she said so herself. Another was a letter from her career adviser saying that they had found her a job at a local magazine studio as their photographer. It was only a college magazine, but it paid her, gave her experience, and kept her from getting rusty while having to go through school. The last was from the magazine studio itself, giving her congratulations for coming to work with them and asking her to stop by sometime tomorrow to work her hours out around her college classes.

Piper glanced up at her little sister in disbelief before looking over the papers again to make sure she had read them correctly. It wasn't so much that it was surprising that all of this was for Prue and perfectly legit, so much as Piper hadn't even known Prue had been going to a career advisor or had been doing so well in her classes.

Prue began to frown uncertainly at the continued silence from Piper. "Uh, I know that it doesn't pay well and everything, but I thought that it could at least cover some of my college expenses, that way you can actually focus more on the bills and not my college loans." She began a little nervously. She couldn't tell if Piper approved or not and it was driving her crazy.

"I think it's great, sweetie. Perfect for you." Piper finally spoke up, approval shining through her words.

Prue brightened immediately. "Really? I am sorry I missed the electrician… I tried to work on the chandelier myself, but it's stubborn. I think it's finally kicked the bucket." She explained quickly.

Piper shook her head slightly about to say something when her eyes caught sight of a package and a bunch of roses on the table. "Who gave you those?" Piper demanded, her big sister instincts kicking in. They looked really expensive… way too expensive for some college guy to spend on Prue. Expensive gifts either come from someone you've dated awhile or from some really desperate guys. Desperate guys can be dangerous and Prue hadn't dated anyone for a month or so now.

Prue followed her sister's eyes to the presents and she smiled in realization of what Piper apparently thought. "Actually, they're for you. Jeremy had them delivered earlier since he couldn't get off work to come and see you tonight." Prue replied.

"Oh… that's okay then." Piper allowed, her instincts backing off as she smiled and quickly moved to open the package. She was pleased to notice that Prue had fought off her curiosity and not opened it already.

Prue followed her sister quickly, looking over her shoulder as Piper opened her package. With a grin she backed up a few paces and pulled her camera out. _To the left a little, zoom, focus, wait until she gets it open, shoot. _Prue silently told herself.

Piper saw the flash of the camera as she pulled out a bottle of wine from the wrapped package. "Prue! I don't like my picture taken by surprise!" She whined humorously.

"Oh, come on, Pipe. It's a good picture. See?" Prue countered, skipping toward her elder sister and turning the camera around for Piper to see her picture.

Piper looked at the miniature picture of herself on Prue's camera. "If you like pictures of me it's a great picture." She conceded with a nod.

Prue rolled her eyes at the comment. "I don't know why you think people wouldn't like pictures of you. You're beautiful."

"Thanks, Sis." Piper answered gratefully.

Prue let the subject drop, knowing Piper had always been self-conscious about her image. "So, Jeremy sent you port?" She prompted, slyly changing the subject to Piper's fiancé. Prue's ice blue eyes flickered to land on the wine bottle in Piper's hands, a questioning look in her eyes.

"It's the ultimate ingredient for my audition recipe tomorrow." Piper explained with a soft laugh at Prue's confusion. It was known in the Halliwell household that anything food related was left to Piper. Both their eldest sister, Phoebe, and Prue couldn't cook to save their lives. Prue was especially bad.

"I guess that Wolfgang-puck knockoff didn't hire you then?" Prue guessed, crossing her arms at the thought. The guy must be insane to pass by Piper. She was an amazing cook.

Piper frowned and ran a hand through her hair, allowing a hint of her frustration to show through. "No, but with this, he may give me the job after tomorrow." She decided hopefully. She had just quit her job at the bank after the insurance (the whole reason she was with the bank in the first place) changed and didn't cover enough for her and Prue. She could afford better insurance as soon as she got another job. Preferably one she was willing to live with. Piper carefully sat the bottle of port down on the table, her eyes now catching sight of the old spirit board that was sitting a little farther down. "Oh my God! I don't believe it. Tell me that's not our old spirit board!" She exclaimed, running towards it with outstretched hands.

"Oh yeah. I found it in the basement when I was looking for the circuit tester." Prue explained, as Piper flipped the spirit board over to look at the inscription on the back.

"To my three beautiful girls. May this give you the light to find the shadows. The power of three will set you free. Love, Mom." She read with a smile.

Prue glanced over the engraving for a moment and couldn't resist a crack at Phoebe. "Well, we should send it to Phoebe. That girl is so in the dark maybe a bit of light would help." Prue suggested as a joke. Obviously she would never give something that meant so much to her to Phoebe.

"Prue!" Piper scolded, narrowing her eyes at her little sister.

Prue crossed her arms defensively. "What?"

Piper gently placed the spirit board back on the table before answering. "You know what." She retorted, still in her scolding voice.

"Well, maybe if she hadn't run off because we are and I quote 'too difficult' then maybe I wouldn't say anything. I mean, I think for the most part I was pretty sensible. At least more so than she could say at the age of nineteen." Prue ranted, her voice rising slightly just at the mention of Phoebe.

Piper sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to talk to Prue on the subject anymore. "Why don't we find something to eat?" She suggested, pointing toward the kitchen. She grabbed Prue's hand and pulled her along despite Prue's apparent bad temper.

As Prue and Piper left the room, the pointer began to move along the spirit board, unnoticed by the two sisters.

**Serena Fredrick's Apartment**

Andrew Trudeau was driving his police car toward the home of the latest murder. Over an hour ago his partner Darryl Morris had called and told him another woman had been stabbed. This was the fourth woman to be killed in a short time frame and the police were no closer to figuring out who was behind it. In his frustration he had decided to follow a lead. He knew it had been far-fetched to theorize the women as witches, but he had decided it was worth a shot. Andy pulled into the parking lot of the apartments that the victim had lived in. He quickly shut off his car and stepped into the heavy rain. As he traversed around the police, paramedics, and bystanders he pulled out his police mark and flashed it to the officer prohibiting the curious bystanders from entering. Morris was waiting for him at the door of the apartment.

"Well, it's about time." Morris called, checking his watch as soon as he caught sight of his partner.

"I got here as soon as I heard. Another dead female right? Mid to late twenties." Andy responded, beginning to push past Darryl into the house.

"I've been paging you for over an hour, Trudeau. Where have you been?" Darryl asked pushing open the door and leading Andy through the maze of people. Morris knew Andy was a good cop, even if he wasn't through school yet and was technically just an intern. He knew what was worthy of his attention so he wouldn't have put his arrival off without a sound reason. However, sometimes it seemed his partner was a bit too independent in his investigations.

"Checking out a lead." Andy replied, purposely leaving out the details. He pushed his damp brown hair away from his eyes and avoided looking at Darryl.

"What lead?" Darryl pressed, unwilling to let Andy avoid the question that easily.

Andy sighed realizing he was going to have to be more specific. He turned around to face Darryl. "One that didn't go anywhere." he answered glancing at his watch in frustration. While they were here talking some creep was out there killing women. For all they knew he could be picking out his next victim at this moment.

"You're avoiding my question." Morris pointed out moving farther into the apartment, his partner following.

"Because you don't want to know that I went to an occult shop." Andy finally gave in.

Darryl turned to look back at Trudeau in surprise. He laughed in disbelief. "You hate me don't you? You wanna see me suffer." He accused, turning away.

"I wanna solve these murders. Someone's after witches." Trudeau insisted remembering the tattoo on all the victims as well as some of their personal affects.

"Women." Darryl countered.

"That woman up there. I bet she was killed with an athame." Andy guessed. So far all of the victims had been killed with one and it was a tool used by witches which backed his theory.

"Wrong. Double-edged steel knife." Morris replied turning to face Andy with a look of triumph.

Andy just grinned. "Right. That's an athame" He countered. "It's a ceremonial tool. Witches use them to direct energy." He explained, looking around to see if anyone was listening to them.

"That woman didn't direct jack. She was stabbed. Plain and simple." Darryl insisted, refusing to give in to his partner's logic.

After determining that no one was paying them any attention Andy lowered his voice so as not to be heard just in case. "Was she found near an alter?" He asked.

"Yes." Darryl replied shortly.

"Were there carvings on that alter?" Andy pressed, smiling as he realized Darryl was trapped.

Darryl rolled his eyes as he realized that what Andy was implying almost made sense… almost "Look. Just do me a favor. Don't ever follow a lead without checking with me first."

"You want to go to occult shops?" Andy joked, grinning at his partner's reaction to being cornered.

Darryl forced a laugh at Andy's joke. "Get to work, okay?" He ordered, turning around and walking into the room where the victim's body was.

Andy began to follow still smiling to himself until a voice called out behind him. "Inspector Trudeau?" He turned around to face a young reporter.

"Jeremy Burns. San Francisco Chronicles." He introduced himself and then continued. "Care to comment?"

"A woman was stabbed. Plain and simple." Andy responded cryptically, echoing his partner's earlier words. He turned back to follow Morris and finally get to work.

"Well, that's the fourth one in three weeks." Jeremy countered, obviously hoping to pull more information from the young and inexperienced inspector.

Andy spun around as if to say something but caught himself unwilling to be quoted incorrectly on something this serious. Instead he just turned his back on the reporter and followed Morris to the body of the victim.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Prue was sitting at the kitchen table with her college books open and spread across the top. The laptop was on and to her left with just enough room, her paper, which she was attempting to write. From where she was sitting she could just see Piper fiddling with the circuit tester in the dark closet that it resided in.

"This is hopeless. I am getting no-where." Piper ranted, slamming the circuit box door closed.

Prue glanced up, glad for the excuse for having a break. Her head was beginning to hurt with all the information. "Bright side? The electric bill should go down." She offered with an innocent smile. She immediately looked back down at her work, feigning interest when Piper cast her a glare.

Piper looked down at her watch, her stomach tightening when she realized how late it was. Phoebe would be arriving home soon and she still hadn't broken the news to Prue. "So Prue, what do you think of having someone move into that spare room?" She asked casually, stepping out of the dark closet and stopping next to Prue.

"I think it's a good idea. We could rent it out at a reduced rate for help around the house." Prue suggested, without looking up from her work.

"Phoebe's always been good with a wrench." Piper pointed out mildly. She held her breath for Prue's reaction. Even though she was the elder sister here Prue and she had become really close in the last few months and she wasn't particularly keen to get on Prue's bad side over something like Phoebe.

Prue didn't appear fazed by the mention of their eldest sister. "Last I checked she'd moved off to New York." She countered, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Piper sighed and took a deep breath before breaking the news. "Not anymore." Piper released, biting her lip slightly.

Prue blinked in confusion, her ice blue eyes flickering to look into Piper's brown ones. "What?" She asked, sounding stunned at the revelation._ Just because she's left New York doesn't mean she's coming here… Piper wouldn't let her come back… surely…_ She thought, though part of her realized that was just what she wanted to believe and not necessarily true.

"Phoebe left New York. She's moving back in with us." Piper rather reluctantly replied.

Prue appeared speechless. Her confusion flew past upset and straight into anger. _How dare she expect to just come back after walking out on them. And for what? To find their father who had left before she, Prue, had turned two?_

Piper watched the inner conflict in Prue's eyes and sat down next to her baby sister. "Listen Prue, she had nowhere else to go. She's lost her job, in debt, and technically the house is hers too. It was willed to all of us." She tried to explain as gently as she could.

"Whatever. As long as she gets a job and helps you with the bills and stays away from me… I'll be fine." Prue hissed, getting up from her seat and grabbing at her huge textbooks. She was moving up to her room. There was no way she wanted to be here when Phoebe came waltzing in, like she owned the place.

"Prue…" Piper began as she watched Prue try to carry all her textbooks as well as her laptop up the stairs. She ran forward when Prue almost lost a grip on everything, steadying her sister. "Here, at least let me help." She decided to say instead of continuing the touchy topic of Phoebe.

Piper and Prue both jumped in surprise when the front door suddenly opened and their eldest sister squeezed in trying to leave as much of the cold wind outside as possible. "Surprise! I found the hide-a-key." Phoebe announced, holding it up and taking several steps toward her little sisters. Her gaze landed on Piper first, who broke into a wide smile. Then her gaze shifted to Prue and she was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt. Her youngest sister, carrying a pile of textbooks, wouldn't even look at her and appeared to only be staying because Piper had a hand on her shoulder.

Piper gently placed Prue's laptop and one of her textbooks on the nearest side table and rushed forward to give Phoebe a quick hug. "Phoebe, welcome home!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey, Piper!" Phoebe replied, tightening her hold on her little sister. She had missed them so much… both of them. More than she would ever admit.

"It's so good to see you." Piper welcomed and then looked back to Prue obviously expecting a greeting for Phoebe from her. With no response forthcoming she prompted "Isn't it Prue?"

Prue, ignoring Phoebe for the time being, had walked toward the side table where her laptop was sitting. Balancing her textbooks on her knee she carefully placed her laptop on top. "I'm speechless." Prue offered sharply, a little breathless from trying to hold all her heavy books and now the added weight of the laptop.

Piper was about to tell Prue to leave her stuff for a moment until she could help her, but was interrupted by a loud and blaring horn from the cab car that Phoebe had taken.

"Oops, I forgot about the cab." Phoebe muttered, shuffling through her purse looking for any money at all.

Prue raised her eyebrows, just now realizing how poor Phoebe actually was, not that it helped her be any more sympathetic.

"I'll get it." Piper offered, running forward and grabbing her purse off the end table by the door and heading out the door, leaving Phoebe and Prue by themselves in the Manor.

Prue's eyes flashed a moment with anger that Piper had to pay for the cab with the money she worked so hard for. She slowly made her way toward the staircase, leaning against the wall for support.

Phoebe watched Prue for a moment before taking several steps toward her baby sister. "I'll pay her back." She called, recognizing the anger in Prue's eyes.

"You better…" Prue snapped, only stopping when Phoebe moved around her and blocked her way to the stairs. "Get out of my way, Phoebe." Prue added coldly.

"Look, I know that you're mad at me for leaving…" Phoebe began, but was cut off by her little sister.

"We're not selling Gram's house." Prue interrupted.

An annoyed looked flashed across Phoebe's face. "Is that why you think I came back?"

Prue's eyes narrowed dangerously and she made to move around Phoebe. Her arms were getting extremely tired, not to mention the books cutting into her. "Well, if I remember correctly, which I do. You were the one that told Piper to give up on the house because it was 'too difficult' to maintain and pay for." She pointed out. 'Too difficult.' That had been Phoebe's excuse for everything.

"How about we just talk about what's really bothering you?" Phoebe suggested her annoyance quickly turning into anger as it always did around Prue.

"No, I'm busy. I have a paper to write." Prue retorted. She was about halfway up the steps before Phoebe managed to calm herself enough to say anything.

"So you'd rather have a tense reunion with boring chitchat and unimportant small talk?" Phoebe pressed sarcastically with a roll of her chocolate brown eyes.

Prue laughed mirthlessly at her sarcasm. "Honestly I'm not planning on actually talking to you as soon as I make it up to my room." Prue replied shortly.

"Prue, what hell is the matter with you?" Phoebe yelled, her patience running out at her little sister's continued arguing.

Prue spun on her, eyes flashing dangerously. "What's the matter with me? What the hell is the matter with you? You left for what? Victor? I bet you didn't even find him. Wasted all your money on him when he never gave us so much as the time of day. Left Piper to take care of everything. So tell me, **Phoebe**, was it worth it?" Prue screamed back.

Phoebe was silently seething. She was about to reply when Piper came walking in trying to be as cheery as possible after hearing the yelling coming from the house. "Hey! I have a great idea! Why don't I make a fabulous reunion dinner." Piper suggested looking excitedly from one sister to the next.

"Not hungry." Prue muttered without a glance toward Piper. She gave Phoebe one last glare before stomping up the last few steps toward the safety of her room.

"Ate on the bus." Phoebe replied, picking up her one suitcase that she owned and making her way to the Conservatory. She wasn't going to risk running into Prue for awhile. She'd make herself comfortable in the Conservatory until she was sure Prue was safely in her room.

Piper watched with worried eyes as her two sisters went their separate ways, knowing full well of the argument that had occurred while she'd been paying the cab driver. "Okay, we'll try the group hug later." She decided, heading for the kitchen, her safe haven.

~PO3~

Phoebe finally entered her old room and threw her suitcase in the floor in frustration. She immediately went to the old TV and turned it on for no other reason than to have something to do. _Ugh… Soap Opera. Nope… Sports. No. News. It'll do. _She pulled off her light jacket and set it down on the dresser before walking up to her mirror and messing with her makeup. Over the noise of the television she heard a knock on her door.

"It's me." Piper's voice carried through the wooden door.

Phoebe was silent for a moment wondering whether she should just tell Piper to go away, but decided she could use the company. "Come in." She called over the TV. Piper opened the door and entered carrying a tray of food. Phoebe turned away from the mirror and smiled in greeting. Her smile widened as she saw the food. "Thank god. I'm starving." She said lying down on her bed as Piper set the food down on the dresser within reach of Phoebe.

"I figured." Piper laughed and glanced over at the TV. "Hey! That's my boyfriend, Jeremy" She said smiling at the thought of him. Suddenly she frowned seeing the ambulances and police in the background. "What happened?" Piper asked Phoebe.

"Oh, some woman got whacked." Phoebe replied nonchalantly grabbing at some food from the tray.

"Whacked?" Piper asked giving Phoebe a disapproving look at her new diction. "Phoebe, you've been in New York way to long." She told her sitting down on the edge of Phoebe's bed.

Phoebe suddenly frowned and looked away from Piper. "Yeah, maybe I should have just stayed." She responded and then narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why didn't you tell Prue I was coming back?"

"You should have been the one to tell her instead of laying it on me. I didn't want to upset her." Piper countered, grabbing the remote and switched the TV off.

"Agreed." Phoebe conceded with a sigh. "I just don't know how to talk to her. Every time I try she just gets so… defensive." Phoebe confessed, playing with the food on her tray.

Piper thought the confession over for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase what needed to be said. "Look, just try and think about how she feels with the situation. If you can understand her than it should be easier to keep sensible. And remember, she doesn't know how to deal with you either. You're both in the same boat." Piper advised slowly.

Phoebe listened silently and didn't reply immediately. "So, how is she doing? I mean, she's in college now, right?" She wondered curiously. Phoebe frowned at the thought since she had decided to wait for college and obviously hadn't ever gone back. That meant her baby sister was farther along than she was.

"She's great. She's planning on being a photographer still and has amazing grades. I just saw her transcript today actually. She's even been awarded a job as the college magazine's photographer by her career adviser, which will look great on a resume." Piper explained smiling slightly at the accomplishments of their little sister.

Phoebe sighed and dropped her head in her hand. "Ugh… I need a job or I'll never hear the end of it." She muttered.

Piper narrowed her eyes slightly. "Just take a few days, settle in, then you can worry about proving to Prue that you're going to help out." She fell silent when Phoebe didn't say anything. "… You are going to help out, right? I don't think I can cover feeding another person with my salary."

"Of course I'm going to help. I didn't come back here to mooch off you guys. I actually want to get somewhere with my life before it's really too late." Phoebe snapped, rolling her eyes.

Piper rose to her feet and made her way toward the door. "That my dear sister is going to take time, but like I said, settle in and then worry about it." She reiterated, closing Phoebe's door behind her. Piper glanced toward Prue's room, wondering if maybe she needed to talk too. After a moment, she walked to Prue's door and knocked softly.

**Serena Fredrick's Apartment**

In the apartment of the murdered woman Andy and Darryl were inspecting the body of the victim. Behind them many other inspectors were looking for evidence that may lead to a suspect. Andy's eyes focused on the tattoo that the victim had. A circle with three interlocking arcs inside. Some Wiccan symbol he presumed. "It's the same tattoo that was on the other three victims." He observed turning to look at Darryl as he approached.

"So the murderer is killing occults." Darryl stated looking down at the woman.

Andy frowned and decided to bring up his theory again now that there was a bit more evidence backing it. "No, the murderer is on a witch hunt." He insisted covering the body back up with the white sheet.

"Oh, yeah, and he's five hundred years old and lives in Salem." Darryl agreed sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "Look around, Trudeau. Pentagrams, alters, offerings, all tools of a freak fest." He continued turning around and pointing towards the alter in the room.

"They call them Sabbaths. Which is hardly a freak fest. She was a solitary practitioner. She practiced her craft alone." Andy responded pushing his point.

"Right." Darryl replied in disbelief but decided it best to let it go.

However, Andy was unwilling to let it go. "Let me ask you something, Morris. Do you believe in U.?" He asked

"Hell, no." was Darryl's short reply.

"Neither do I." Andy agreed, nodding. "But do you believe there are people out there that **do** believe in U.F.O.s?" He asked eagerly awaiting Darryl's response.

"Yes, but I think they're crazy." He replied beginning to recognize where his partner was leading this.

"Well, then why can't you believe there are people who **believe** they are witches?" A short silence followed Andy's question.

"Look, all I know is that if you don't stop talking about witches, I'm going to start questioning you." Darryl responded slowly.

Andy looked away as the murdered woman's cat jumped onto the table beside them with a loud meow. Andy walked over to her and began to pet the cat.

Darryl watched his partner walk over to the cat and thought it best to give him a warning. That cat had already clawed most of the officers in the building before Trudeau had arrived. "I'd stay away from that cat, Trudeau. It's been clawing the crap out of everybody." He warned and then began to walk away. "See you at the car." He called over his shoulder. As he reached the door he turned to look back at his partner.

Andy had picked the cat up and was looking at her collar. It had the Wiccan symbol that was tattooed on the victim's on it. The circle with three interlocking arcs inside. Better known as the Triquetra to those of the Supernatural world.

**The Halliwell Manor**

After a long talk and a lot of persuasion Piper finally convinced Prue to come down to the Solarium with her and Phoebe to work on her paper. Piper and Phoebe were at one of the tables playing with the spirit board while Prue was sitting on the couch with her laptop and one of her notebooks.

"I'm glad to hear you and Jeremy are still together. Where did you meet him anyway?" Phoebe asked Piper as she pushed the pointer across the spirit board.

"We met at the hospital cafeteria; the day Grams was admitted into the hospital. He was covering a story and I was balling over a bagel. So, he handed me a napkin" Piper explained, smiling at the memory, though a little embarrassed.

"How romantic." Phoebe teased laughing.

Piper rolled her eyes at the teasing remark. "As a matter of fact it was, the napkin had his phone number on it." Phoebe laughed and they continued playing with the spirit board. "Stop pushing the pointer." Piper told Phoebe breaking the temporary silence.

"I'm not touching it." Phoebe protested.

"You always used to push the pointer." Piper countered getting to her feet. "More popcorn?" She asked looking toward Phoebe. Phoebe nodded and Piper walked toward the kitchen.

Phoebe's eyes flickered to look over at Prue, who refused to say anything as long as Phoebe was in the room. With a soft sigh she looked back at the spirit board pleadingly. "Question 1: How can I redeem myself in Prue's eyes?" She whispered so softly that Prue couldn't hear. Suddenly the pointer began to move stopping on the letter A. Phoebe's eyes widened in surprise. "Piper… "She whispered speechless. Almost immediately it swerved and stopped on the letter T. "Piper! I think you need to see this!" Phoebe yelled.

Prue jumped at the sudden yell from her older sister. "What happened?" She demanded with worried eyes toward her eldest sister. Prue was already on her feet and was scouring the area for anything wrong.

Before Phoebe could say anything Piper came walking in. "What?" Piper asked curiously.

"The pointer on the spirit board. It moved on its own." Phoebe explained looking down at it.

Prue looked annoyed, having thought something was legitimately wrong while Piper looked amused, thinking Phoebe was just playing around.

Phoebe glanced up at them and recognized their expressions. "I'm serious. It spelled 'A' 'T'" Phoebe explained.

"Well did you push it?" Piper asked smiling.

"No." Phoebe snapped sending a glare at her younger sisters.

"You used to always push the pointer." Prue pointed out rolling her eyes.

"My fingers were barely touching it." Phoebe insisted. "Look." She tried to will the pointer to move. Nothing happened.

Prue twirled a piece of her hair while waiting for something to happen. After a few moments she gave up and turned back to the couch and her paper while Piper turned back into the kitchen. Just as they turned the pointer moved from 'T' to the middle of the board and back to 'T.'

"It moved again… I'm totally serious." Phoebe exclaimed.

Prue walked up to glance over Phoebe's shoulder and raised her eyebrows. "It's still on the letter 'T.'" She pointed out knowingly.

"I swear it moved." Phoebe tried to explain.

Prue spun on her heel and dropped back down on the couch, making a point to ignore the rest of her sisters' conversation.

Piper turned to watch Prue leave and looked back toward Phoebe just as the pointer moved to the letter 'I."

"There." Phoebe called nervously pushing her chair back away from the table. "You saw that right?" She asked, looking up at Piper hopefully.

"I think so, yeah." Piper replied, her brown eyes not leaving the spirit board.

"I told you I wasn't touching it." Phoebe responded in an I-told-you-so voice as the pointer once again moved from the letter 'I' to stop on the letter 'C' Piper clearly seeing it this time bolted toward Phoebe and grabbed onto her eldest sister's arm. Phoebe grabbed hold of a pen and began writing the letters down on an envelope that was nearby. "I think it's trying to tell us something." Phoebe explained and held up the envelope where she had written 'ATTIC' down. All of a sudden a clap of thunder was heard loud enough to shake the house and the lights in the house flickered and went out.

Piper jumped in surprise, her nails digging into Phoebe's arm as Prue cursed when the source of light disappeared. Her laptop, fortunately, stayed on, but she irritably threw her notebook down on the table.

~PO3~

"Piper, the power went out, that is all. We're perfectly safe here." Prue called trying to talk some sense into Piper. Her older sister was practically running toward the front door. The dark house lit up from the lightning outside casting shadows along the walls of the old house.

"Don't say that! In horror movies the person that says that is **always** the next to die." Piper called over her shoulder not slowing down in the slightest.

"It's pouring rain. There's a psycho on the loose. Jeremy's not even home!" Prue added grabbing Piper's arm and spinning her around to face her. Piper glared at her little sister and stubbornly grabbed her rain jacket and put it on.

Well, I'll… I'll…I'll wait in the cab until he gets home from work." Piper countered

"That'll be cheap." Prue retorted rolling her eyes.

"Prue! I saw that pointer move!" Piper insisted as Phoebe came in from the Solarium where they had been sitting.

Prue opened her mouth to argue, but Phoebe beat her to it. "Piper, just breathe. Prue, go get the flashlights." Phoebe ordered, receiving a quick glare from Prue who had to bite back a sharp retort for being ordered around.

Deciding it would be pointless to argue over something so stupid, Prue turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen where they kept the flashlights.

Phoebe turned to watch Piper as she ran to the phone, only to realize it didn't work. Piper nervously slammed the phone back down. "Great, now the phone doesn't work." She panicked.

"The power's out." Phoebe pointed out mildly, crossing her arms and appearing fairly amused by Piper's panicking. "Look, let's just check out the attic. It's not that big of a deal." She suggested.

"Not that big of a deal? Phoebe, the pointer on the spirit board moved! By itself! How is that **not** a big deal?" Piper snapped.

Phoebe waited out her rant calmly. "Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"No, there is something wrong with the house! Prue and I have lived in this house for months and we've never been able to get that attic door open." Piper countered, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.

"Phoebe! Quit trying to trick Piper." Prue scolded, coming back into the Foyer with three flashlights that she passed to each of her sisters.

Phoebe's eyes narrowed at her baby sister. "Maybe if you had been paying attention you wouldn't have missed the fact that I'm not tricking her." Phoebe hissed defiantly.

"Oh, please, Phoebe. Give it up. Your tricks haven't worked on me since the fifth grade." Prue retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Now, if you don't mind I'm going to the basement to check out the main circuit box. Piper, I need you to come with me."

Piper glanced over at her in surprise. "Why?"

"I need you to hold the flashlight." Prue explained giving Piper a pleading look.

"Phoebe will go to the basement, won't you Phoebe?" Piper turned on Phoebe, still trying to get away to go find Jeremy.

Phoebe shook her head and turned toward the stairs. "Nope, I'm going to the attic." She replied, already heading up the stairs.

"I thought we'd decided to wait on the handyman." Prue pointed out looking slightly annoyed, yet a little interested at what was in the attic.

"I'm not waiting for some handyman to check out the attic and I'm certainly not waiting until tomorrow. I'm going now." Phoebe called as she disappeared up the steps.

With a last look at the stairs Prue grabbed Piper's hand and pulled her after her toward the basement.

~PO3~

Phoebe continued to climb the stairs, moving quickly in her eagerness. She kept her hand against the wall for support as she walked through the darkness that was only penetrated by a lightning strike or by the flashlight she had clutched in her other hand. She reached the attic door and jiggled the door knob half-heartedly. She hadn't expected it to open that easily. Instead she turned the knob as far as it would go and pushed trying to force it open. After a few moments of struggling with the door she stepped back looking frustrated. With a deep sigh she turned around beginning to head back downstairs. Just as she turned her back on it, the door swung open. The creaking of the hinges alerted Phoebe and she spun around, her heart pounding. Slowly she walked inside the beam of the flashlight before her. It landed on a chest against the wall and she moved toward it. As she approached she set her flashlight down on a nearby table and slowly clenched and unclenched her hand. She hadn't realized how hard she had been gripping it, but it was just a fleeting thought as her curiosity began to overwhelm her. She kneeled down beside the chest and opened it enough to pull out the first thing she saw. A large black leather-bound book with a large circle with three interlocking arcs. Phoebe sat down in a nearby chair and blew the dust off the old book before opening it and beginning to read.

"The Book of Shadows." she read and then paused looking around unsure. She thought about putting it back to look at other objects but she felt a pull to read it. It felt right so she turned the page.

"_Hear now the words of the witches _

_The secrets we hid in the night _

_The oldest of Gods are invoked here_

_The great work of magic is sought _

_In this night and in this hour_

_I call upon the Ancient Power_

_Bring your powers to we sisters three_

_We want the power_

_Give us the power" _

Phoebe read and then trailed off speechless.

Unnoticed by all inhabitants of the Manor the old chandelier in the foyer lit up sending blue and white lights through the house. The picture on the mantle taken several years previous began to change. Once the picture was of the three girls with Prue and Phoebe on the very edges obviously wanting to be as far apart as possible. Piper was almost in the background as if she hadn't wanted her picture taken. Prue had moved in next to Piper and Phoebe moved in on the other side of Piper. It left all three sisters closer than they had been before.

Phoebe remained silent, flipping through the book eagerly. Behind her the other two sisters entered both of them looking stunned to find the attic door open and Phoebe reading a large book.

"You got it open!" Prue announced excitedly, her eyes flickering over the mysterious attic. When they were younger she remembered her Grams had told them it had been blocked off, then for the past six months it had been too stubborn to open. She stepped into the attic for the first time that she could remember and immediately felt she was supposed to be here.

Phoebe jumped in surprise and slammed the book shut. "Yeah, you should check out this stuff. We even have a book of witchcraft in here." She commented.

"A what?" Piper demanded nervously, grabbing tight hold of Prue's hand and pulling her forward next to Phoebe.

"This Book of Shadows. It's full of incantations and stuff. I found it in that trunk." Phoebe explained, pointing to the chest that was open.

"Let me see that." Prue pleaded taking the large book from Phoebe and flipping through it.

Piper narrowed her eyes at the book as if she expected it would shoot fire or electrify Prue for touching it. "You didn't read anything did you?" Piper wondered, biting her lip.

"Yeah, an incantation… you know that's what books are for. It said something about there being three essentials of magic. Uh, timing, feeling, and the phases of the moon. If we were ever going to do this. Now, midnight on a full moon, is the most powerful time." Phoebe stated eagerly.

"This? Do what this?" Piper prompted.

Phoebe shrugged nonchalantly. "According to the book, receive our powers." She replied, not appearing too concerned. As cool as she thought it would be to believe in this she didn't. All it was was good entertainment on a rainy night.

"What powers? Wait! Our powers? You included me in this?" Piper asked frustrated. She glanced at Prue as if waiting for some kind of confirmation.

Prue looked up and nodded slightly. "No she included all of us." Prue responded. "Bring your powers to we sisters three." She quoted, closing the book again. Her eyes were narrowed slightly in thought as Piper pulled the book from her hands to look over it herself.

~PO3~

Outside the house, lightning flashed to show the silhouette of a person wearing a long coat standing outside the Halliwell Manor.

~PO3~

A few moments later all three sisters walked back down the stairs. Prue looked thoughtful, Piper worried, and Phoebe indifferent.

"Nothing happened, right Phoebe, when you did that incantation?" Piper asked staring intently at the elder sister.

"Well, my head spun around and I vomited split-pea soup." Phoebe replied sarcastically, she trailed off when she caught Piper's eye. "No." She sighed half-wishing it would be true.

"Nothing could have changed. It's just a book. It's not like any of that stuff actually works." Prue put in with a roll of her eyes. "It's just a little excitement for the night." She added.

"Everything does look the same." Piper agreed reluctantly, looking around the foyer for a change but finding none.

"You're right." Phoebe replied sounding slightly disappointed.

"Yep, the house still needs work." Prue also responded walking off towards the kitchen followed by Phoebe. Piper followed reluctantly still looking around the house unconvinced.

"Everything looks the same, so nothing's changed right?" Piper asked looking for reassurance. Prue glanced behind her back at Piper and smiled reassuringly.

~PO3~

All through the night Phoebe stayed up reading the Book of Shadows. Before she knew it bright sunshine was shining through the windows in the attic and she finally sat the book to the side and stood up, giving her legs a much-needed stretch. She walked through the house as quiet as she could, flinching whenever the old floor creaked beneath her creating an echo that traveled throughout the silent house. She vaguely wondered where her sisters were as she poured herself a cup of coffee that had already been made. Phoebe wanted so much to tell everything she had read last night to one of them. The first one she saw. However, the minutes ticked by and the only noise that gave away the presence of any other person in the house was the sound of running water as the shower was turned on. With a sigh she walked outside the Manor and sat on the steps, lost in thought over the book. She didn't know how long she sat there just thinking and wishing but after a while she heard the front door open behind her and she turned to greet her sister.

Piper walked out of the house carrying a bag and a change of clothes for her job interview later in the day. She paused in surprise upon seeing Phoebe up so early in the morning. "Hey, you're up early." She commented looking at Phoebe curiously.

"I never went to sleep" Phoebe replied and turned to look back down the street while taking a sip of coffee.

Piper smiled wider and sat down next to her elder sister. "Don't tell me you put on a black conical hat and spent the night flying around the neighborhood on a broomstick?" She questioned teasingly.

Phoebe rolled her eyes at Piper's question and shook her head. "The only broom I've ever owned was kept in a closet beside a mop." She retorted laughing softly.

Piper narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "So what were you doing?" She asked, unsure if she actually wanted to know or not.

"Reading." She replied cryptically then looked back towards Piper. "Is Prue around?"

"She's already gone to school." Piper responded pausing for a moment. "Reading…. Aloud?" She pressed nervously. Phoebe may think this whole idea of witchcraft was humorous but Piper was against the idea of black magic.

"No…" Phoebe responded wondering if she should even say anything about what she had read. Piper had made it pretty obvious that she didn't think it was entertaining at all. In the end she decided to explain since Piper was pressing it. "But… According to the Book of Shadows one of our ancestors was a witch named Melinda Warren." She began nonchalantly.

Piper immediately stiffened at the mention of the book and took up an annoyed glance usually seen on Prue. "And we have a cousin who's a drunk, an aunt who's manic, and a father who's invisible." She replied sarcastically, getting to her feet and heading towards her jeep that was parked on the curb.

Phoebe rolled her eyes expecting this reaction and slowly followed Piper. "Come on, it's actually a pretty interesting story. I mean, she practiced powers. Three powers. She could move objects with her mind, see the future, and stop time. Before Melinda was burned at the stake she vowed that each generation of Warren Witches would become stronger and stronger until culminating in the arrival of three sisters. Now these sisters would be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. Kinda freaky, huh?" She laughed. During this speech Piper had remained silent as she placed her bag and clothes in the seat of the jeep. As Phoebe finished she turned to face her after taking a deep breath.

"A little I admit. But we do **not** have special powers. Grams wasn't a witch and as far as we know… neither was Mom." Piper assured herself as much as talking to Phoebe. With a soft smile she hugged Phoebe good bye. "Now that we've straightened that out, we can let it go. Prue doesn't need any more ideas in her head." Piper half-joked, but was obviously half-serious. With that she hopped into her car. The engine roared as it started up and she prepared to back out.

Phoebe laughed at Piper's response and couldn't resist calling after her "We're protectors of the innocent. We're known as the Charmed Ones." She teased her younger sister as Piper left. She was left in the middle of the street watching her sister drive off.

**Golden State University** (I read on Wikipedia that this is where she went, but I don't really know.)

Prue traversed her way through the crowded campus trying to get to her Art History class. It didn't help that she was stopped every few feet by someone calling. "Hey, Prue.", "Prue!", "How are you, Prue?", "Prue, will you go out with me?", etc. She would wave in greeting or in the latter's case pretend she didn't hear them, but either way it was still pretty distracting. Her thoughts moved to today's class. She had an extra credit contest project due, a very specific research paper regarding certain Italian artifacts in the 1600's. Prue had been spending much of her free-time in research and making it perfect. Whoever won, other than money, would receive a lot of recognition that would look great on future resumes outside of school as well as a name inside the school. She didn't just want to be known as Ms. Popular, but for her accomplishments since that's what really mattered outside of college. The money could also help out Piper. She felt obligated to at least try, even if she didn't win.

As she walked into the room, her eyes flickered to look at Roger. It was hard to miss him since he was trying desperately to grab her attention. He was several years older than her and was taking this class to finish his major. The guy had been asking Prue out since she first ran into him her freshmen year. Prue had always stubbornly refused. Prue looked up at him, but instead of joining his table she turned and walked down the far aisle. She dropped her bags next to another guy in her class, whose mouth dropped at having her sit next to him. Prue waved politely, hoping that he wouldn't move and open the seat up for Roger. Despite her obvious point to stay away from him, Roger strolled up to her table, stopping just next to her. She narrowed her eyes, thinking vaguely about how arrogant he was, while pulling her books from her bag and getting ready for the lesson.

Roger continued to stand there as if expecting her to give him some attention, but after about five minutes of her ignoring him he decided he would need to prompt the conversation. "Is your paper ready to turn in?" He asked slyly.

Prue's eyes narrowed even more, if possible, recognizing the pointed formal talk. He was up to something. The way he was staring at her said that much and though she would never admit it, he was creeping her out. She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat before answering shortly. "Yeah."

"So, I was hoping you could do me a favor." Roger broke the small talk, flashing her a smile. Prue was sure he meant for it to be charming, but it just didn't work for him.

"Okay." Prue prompted carefully, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance.

He smiled wider and pulled out a folder that he passed to Prue. "Could you read over my paper before I turn it in? Just a quick, manual, 'ABC check.' You know how hard it is to catch every mistake in your own paper."

Prue didn't say anything, but took the folder from him in silent agreement. She glanced at him warily as it sounded as if he had rehearsed this whole conversation with himself. He wanted something and she was pretty damn sure it had nothing to do with his contest paper. Prue quickly skimmed over the first page. She paled visibly and flipped to the next page, skimming it.

Roger appeared to be enjoying the spectacle as he sat down comfortably on her table, just in front of her.

Prue flipped to the next page, then the next, before skipping to the very end and reading over it. She dropped the papers, her hands clenching the edge of the table. "Where did you get it?" She demanded in a whisper of barely contained anger.

"Remember when you let Jimmy borrow your flash drive the other day to print his paper? You were talking with Professor Jones and didn't know I was in the room. I told Jimmy you said I could borrow it as well. He didn't even question me." Roger explained laughing softly at Prue's obvious anger yet inability to do anything about it. "Don't look like that, Prudence. It's your own fault for being naïve enough to let others use your flash drive to print papers."

Prue's eyes flickered to Jimmy, who was sitting on the other side of the room. Jimmy was a nice enough guy, bad family situation, but very honest, even charming in his own way. Prue liked him just because he didn't treat her like a prize to be won. He was just a friend, not a close friend obviously since he didn't know enough not to give Roger her flash drive. There was a hint of truth in Roger's words, but she didn't regret that so much as regretting turning her back on it, even if it was just for about five minutes.

"You look surprised." Roger observed with satisfaction.

"I don't know why, I'm furious." Prue retorted sharply, her blue eyes like chips of ice were fixed unwaveringly on Roger. His arrogant smile caused her anger to rise even more but she kept her voice calm and steady. "Why?" She demanded.

"Now that is an interesting question. You see, you wouldn't date me when I asked so I figured you needed a bit of persuasion." Roger began, watching her reaction closely.

Prue was silently fuming, leaning back against her chair with a look that could kill in her eyes.

"We don't have to turn this paper in until the end of class. We could skip and be back in time to turn it in. You give me what I want…" He glanced over her pointedly. "… and I will tell Professor Jones to withdraw my paper allowing you to turn yours in. As you may have guessed, this is just the copy." He explained calmly.

Prue frowned and looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "No." She snapped harshly.

Roger rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Come now, I know your sister needs help with the funds and we both know this paper is going to win…" He trailed off meaningfully.

"No." Prue repeated in a tone that clearly said this conversation was over.

Roger shrugged, confident that she would give in by the end of the class period. "My offer remains. The papers won't get sent to be read over until Tuesday (it's Friday). Since Professor Jones likes you so much she'll give you up until that day to turn it in so up until that day I have a chance to withdraw, but only if I get what I want. Until then, thanks for the paper and the money." He replied slyly knowing that she didn't have enough time to rewrite an entirely different paper. He jumped down from her table and waltzed back to his own.

Prue's eyes flashed and she focused all her anger on him, wishing more than anything to get him back. "Bastard." She muttered furiously under her breath as she ripped her bag open to grab a pencil and began doodling in an effort to cool off. In her focus on her paper she didn't notice that Roger had suddenly tripped over air and slammed into his table. She didn't look up at the class's laughter and therefore remained oblivious to what had happened.

**Quake**

In the popular café, Quake, Piper was quickly running back and forth between the counter and her boiling sauce that she was preparing for her audition. She was beginning to relax a little as she began pouring her wine (that Jeremy had bought her the day before) into a measuring cup. It was the last and most important ingredient for her recipe.

"Your time… is up." Chef Moore called coming into the audition room smiling expectantly at Piper. Piper jumped in surprise nearly dropped the measuring cup, a look of fear crossed her features. _Oh no… not yet. Not yet._ She thought frantically spinning around to face him. "Let's see. Roast pork with gratin of fennel and penne with a port giblet sauce." He read her audition recipe in his French accent.

"Uhhh… Chef Moore?" Piper responded softly, desperately trying to think of some way to gain a few extra seconds to add the wine.

"What?" He asked picking up a fork ready to sample.

"The port…" She continued pointing behind her to the measuring cup her face paling.

"Yes, without the sauce it is nothing more than a salty marinara from a woman's magazine. Puh." Chef Moore replied, not casting Piper a look.

"I didn't have time for the…." Piper began frantically trying to explain but was interrupted by a cough from Chef Moore clearly telling her to keep silent. "But… but…" She stammered as he began to raise the fork to his mouth. Piper panicked and put her hands up as if to make a frantic grab to stop him. Everything around her froze, Chef Moore with his mouth half open. "Chef Moore?" She whispered in disbelief waving her hand in front of his face looking for a response. With no response forthcoming she suddenly realized she could finish her recipe. She spun around and grabbed a baster filling it with wine from the measuring cup and ran back to Chef Moore. She dribbled some onto the forkful of food that he was about to eat. Just as she put the baster behind her back everything unfroze and Chef Moore put the food in his mouth. He smiled in surprise and nodded slightly.

"Mmmm… it is very good… C'est magnifique." He praised.

Piper stilled stunned by the unexpected help just forced a weak smile as she received the job. She nearly ran out of the restaurant toward the nearest phone booth afterwards. She had to talk to Phoebe.

**Golden State University**

Prue sat at her table fiddling with her pencil while straining to make out Roger and Professor Jones' conversation. The other students had already filed out, leaving Prue alone, feigning to be interested in finishing the work in front of her. She couldn't work like this, leaving only one solution. She threw her pencil in her bag, gathered her stuff and hastily left the room. As she left she could just hear what they were saying.

"This paper has to be the best I've seen written in years. Well thought out, creative, beautifully researched. I wanted your permission to show the department head. I think this paper may be helpful for future students…." Professor Jones was saying, causing Prue to clench her fist around her bag.

There was no way she could take credit for it now. Prue didn't wait around long enough to hear Roger's response and instead, headed straight for the Academic Advisor's Office. She threw the door open, slightly harder than necessary, and immediately filled out the required form requesting a meeting with her advisor.

_**Name:**__Prudence Marie Halliwell_

_**Academic Advisor**__: __Michael Bradford_

_**Academic Major**__: __Art History_

_**Academic Minor:**__Photojournalism_

_**Reason for Appointment**__: __Class Change_

_**Means of Contact**__: __Cell- (678)-555-7430_

She was so busy filling out her form she didn't notice Roger come up beside her until his voice broke her from her reverie.

"Class change? That's a bit on the extreme isn't it?" Roger commented, leaning against the counter and reading her writing over her shoulder.

Prue ignored him and passed her completed form to the woman at the desk before grabbing her stuff again and walking out without a backward glance.

Roger took off after her and grabbed her by the arm once in the hallway, pushing her up against the wall. "Think about this, Prue." He insisted, beginning to look angry at being ignored.

"I don't need to. Taking the same class at a different time is not going to hurt my progress in any way." Prue snapped, trying to pull from his grip and continue on her way.

His hand tightened around her arm, preventing movement. "Believe me, if you walk out now you will never get credit for the paper and you'll lose the money. Just another burden for your older sister to take care of."

"Don't threaten me, Roger." Prue retorted, her eyes turning cold again.

"Look, you're hurt, you're angry, your pride is wounded. I understand all that… which is why you can't see how great an opportunity this is for you." Roger observed half-hopefully.

Prue stared at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. Maybe he was legitimately insane…

"As soon as I get acknowledged I can help you rise above everyone else. You may be good at your work, but work ethic will only get you so far. It's all about knowing people and knowing me will get you far. Guaranteed." He winked at her with a large smile before she looked down at her hands.

When she looked up she was obviously trying hard to keep from laughing. "Well, I'm not worried. I'm sure you'll be able to explain everything about my paper when the questions come up from the department head." She countered sarcastically, her smile growing as Roger's face fell at the sudden realization.

"You're going to regret this." He replied sharply, advancing a step. Prue didn't back down and held his gaze confidently.

"Oh, I don't think so, but I suggest you let me go before I decide to file sexual harassment charges against you." Prue responded in a cheery tone. She noticed they had already gained quite a crowd watching their showdown. "Goodbye, Roger." She finished, spinning on her heel and walking away.

Fuming, dumbfounded, and humiliated in front of everyone watching, he couldn't let her walk away with that. She was so infuriating. How come she couldn't just give in to him like a normal person? He ran forward, grabbing her arms and slamming her against the wall again. In her surprise, her bag dropped to the floor and she turned on him with flashing blue eyes. Roger clenched his fist and swung. Pain exploded in her stomach and the breath was knocked out of her as she fell to the ground, landing heavily on her arm, with the impact of the blow. It didn't stop her from throwing a fist at his face and kicking up in an attempt to keep him off her as he tried to hold her down. Roger's hands wrapped around her wrists, trying to hold her still when he was suddenly thrown away from her. She stared in surprise, but her thoughts were interrupted as she became aware of the campus security guards rushing around them.

**Outside Quake**

Piper was inside the nearest phone booth putting her second quarter into the slot. No one had answered the first call. She waited nervously counting the rings growing increasingly impatient. "Phoebe, answer the phone… Phoebe" She willed her sister to pick up on the other end. The answering machine clicked on and Piper slammed the phone back on the holder and stormed out. A young man with sandy blonde hair approached Piper, causing her to jump back in surprise. "Oh, God, Jeremy! You scared me." Piper exclaimed holding her hand over her heart and taking deep breaths to calm it down.

"I…I see. I'm sorry. You okay?" Jeremy asked his voice full of concern for his girlfriend. The color was now beginning to return to Piper's face and she smiled at the surprise meeting with Jeremy.

"Now I am. I really am. Uh… What are you doing here?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

"Well, I wanted to be the first one to congratulate you on your new job." He explained. "Which meant that I had to find you before Prue beat me to it. " Jeremy added as a joke.

Piper laughed with a roll of her eyes. "You needn't have worried. Prue hasn't called." She responded, looking slightly put down. She vaguely wondered why Prue hadn't called. She always did, usually before results were even found out. She didn't dwell on it long as the thought was pushed out of her mind as another popped in. "How did you know?" Piper asked in surprise.

"You prepared your specialty and anyone who has ever sampled your work can truly see how talented you are." He explained, taking a step closer to her.

"I get so turned on when you talk about food." She responded giving him her hands.

Jeremy pulled her to him and whispered into her ear. "Hamburgers… Pizza." Before he kissed her.

**The Street**

Phoebe was riding her bike through the neighborhood, on her way to the small convenient store at the end of the street. She was trying to remember all the necessities she was going to buy when she heard a roaring in her ears and she flinched as a different scene flashed in front of her eyes.

_On the same street she was on now a car appeared coming over the slight hill. The scene flashed to a side street where two boys were rollerblading down the road. A large truck was parked on the curb blocking the oncoming car from seeing the boys and vice versa. The boys skated into the road and were struck by the car._

Phoebe steadied her bike carefully and shook her head to clear the thoughts from her head when she saw the car coming over the hill. She quickly looked to the side street and saw, to her horror, the two boys rollerblading exactly as she had seen just moments before. Frantically she sped her bike up and coasted straight toward them and the car. "No wait!" She screamed at them as she skidded right in front of the boys preventing them from rollerblading into the street, but just barely missing the car which honked at her. Phoebe slid her bike carefully to a stop beside the boys who were asking over and over again if she was okay. She was, she hadn't even fallen over, but she was stunned by what had happened. It couldn't have been true… Phoebe forced a smile to the two boys and assured them that everything was fine. She was about to get back on her bike when her cell phone began to vibrate.

"Phoebe Halliwell." She answered.  
>"This is the Bay Area Hospital, your sister Prudence Halliwell was brought in after a fight…" That was all Phoebe heard before assuring the caller she would be there in fifteen minutes.<p>

**San Francisco Police Department**

Andy walked into the forensic department, his blue eyes scouring the area for Franklin. Franklin glanced up from his computer and caught sight of Andy approaching him.

"Trudeau." He greeted.

"Franklin. Have you found anything?" Andy asked, looking hopefully at his computer for a DNA match or anything that would be remotely helpful in putting this nutcase behind bars.

"The DNA recovered does not solely belong to the victim, but there may not be enough to give us a match. It is being processed now." Franklin explained, passing some of the files to Andy to look over.

"And the fingerprints?" He asked, flipping through the pages for anything new.

"The machine only picked up three points to match and you need at least five on a single person to press an accusation." Franklin responded. "I can print out a list of all the people that match those three points in the area, but it won't narrow your search down by much." He added.

Andy ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Go ahead and do that to add to the file." He replied, tossing the file back down on the table. Franklin nodded and turned back to his computer. A few moments later the printer started up. As Andy sat watching paper after paper shoot out of the printer his phone went off. He looked at the number and recognized it as Darryl's. "Trudeau." He answered.

"Where are you, Trudeau? We have a meeting with the Captain in ten minutes." Darryl replied sounding exasperated.

"Just picking up the files from Franklin." Andy explained as Franklin paper-clipped all the pages together and stuck them in the file.

"Make it quick." Darryl responded, hanging up. Andy placed his cell back in his pocket and took the file Franklin was handing him. He said goodbye and met Darryl outside the Captain's office.

Twenty minutes later Andy was on his way to Bay General Hospital to meet with Dr. Gordon. He was to take all the files in hope that Dr. Gordon could find something that had been overlooked. He entered the hospital and pushed his way to the front of the receptionist's desk.

"I'm here to see Dr. Gordon." Andy told the current receptionist. She nodded and motioned for him to wait a second and she turned to try and help a particularly frantic family. Andy dropped all the files on the counter and persisted to look over them. _There has to be something we missed….._ It helped his concentration as the loud family was moved on. Whoever was after them were much quieter. His thoughts were interrupted only by the receptionist asking for his name. And then he froze as he heard his name called by someone, even though several years had passed, he recognized instantly. He almost didn't look up thinking he couldn't have heard correctly, but he did, and there she was. Prue.

**Bay General Hospital**

Phoebe met Prue at the at the nurse's station to pick her up after getting X-Rays done and leaving a statement with the police. Phoebe looked worriedly over her baby sister who had a brace on her left wrist.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe demanded, running up to stand in front of Prue.

Prue opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the doctor who had hung around to have a word with the elder Halliwell.

"Are you Phoebe Halliwell?" He asked, looking over Prue's file in his hands. Phoebe nodded and he continued. "Your sister has a hairline fracture in her wrist and must wear the brace for three weeks and then follow up with your doctor. She'll have bruising around the blow to her abdomen, but rest is the best way to recover. Avoid strenuous activities. We'll give you a prescription for pain medication for your wrist." The doctor explained quickly, with a glance at his watch. He passed the file to Phoebe. "Give this to the receptionist at the front desk and she'll check you out." With that he turned and left.

Phoebe stared after him, appearing annoyed at his sudden exit and turned to Prue for an explanation.

"He has several people backed up." Prue answered to her silent question as she pushed away from the desk and walked toward her elder sister. She nervously twirled a piece of her hair awaiting the interrogation over what happened.

"They told me you had gotten into a fight." Phoebe began, her tone a bit disapproving, but she didn't want to accuse without hearing it from Prue.

Prue nodded slightly, leading the way back to the front desk, carefully crossing her arms in front of her. She zoned out as her eldest sister began the lecturing about how fighting should be avoided for all sorts of reasons. As if she had never been in a fight. Prue didn't pay any attention until Phoebe pressed a specific question.

"Who was it that hit you?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed in anger. Prue could tell the anger wasn't directed at her, but toward the idea of anyone hitting her little sister.

"Don't worry about it, Pheebs. I kicked his ass and filed a statement already." Prue replied stopping in the short line behind the desk. Apparently, there was some trouble locating the family member of the group in the front, slowing the line down considerably.

Phoebe didn't look as if she wanted to let the subject go. She was silently fuming that anyone would hit Prue and was determined to find out who it was so she could deal with it herself. However, before she could say anything else, her phone began to go off again. She hesitated answering since she was now very close to the desk now that the other family had moved off, but it could be important.

Prue recognized the inner conflict and reached out to take her files. "Look, I can handle these, go take that call." She ordered lightly and with a roll of her eyes as Phoebe walked off to take the call. The people in front of her were, thankfully, quick and then she was next. She closed the space between her and the receptionist quickly, though slow enough not to trample the young man already at the desk. Prue didn't even cast him a glance in her haste to leave the hospital, she hated hospitals, and it was unlikely that he would have offered much conversation as he was immersed in the files in front of him.

Before the receptionist could ask, Prue spoke up. "Hey, I was told to check out here." The receptionist glanced at her before replying.

"I'll need your insurance card, ID, and payment." With that she turned to face the young man on Prue's left. "What's the name again?" The receptionist asked him and Prue followed her gaze as she dug through her purse for the necessary items and placed them on the counter before her.

He finally looked up from his files to the receptionist. "Inspector Andrew Trudeau. Homicide. Dr. Gordon's expecting me." He replied, showing her his police mark. The receptionist nodded, going to check with her superiors while grabbing Prue's documents.

Surprise flashed across Prue's eyes and she looked at the man closer as if disbelieving. Prue stood there silently wondering if she should say something to Andy or to keep silent. He apparently hadn't noticed her. Finally she couldn't help her curiosity from getting the better of her and she turned toward him.

"Andy?" She called, still looking as if she didn't believe it was him.

Andy turned around to look at who had called his name, the surprise evident in his eyes. "Prue?" He asked. "I don't believe it…. How are you?" All the frustration with the case flew from his mind and he smiled as he realized Prue was no less surprised as he was. In fact she appeared at a loss.

"Uhhh…. I'm good." She replied somewhat awkwardly, beginning her old habit of picking at her cuticles. "How are you?" Prue asked, studying him. He hadn't changed much… He was still handsome, charming, and his eyes…. She had to stifle a sigh and look away to keep herself calm. Andy could have laughed at her if he hadn't been in danger of doing the same thing.

"Fine… I just can't believe I'm running into you." He responded quickly. Andy suddenly frowned slightly as he began to wonder why exactly **she** was here. Phoebe and Piper were like his sisters and he sincerely hoped they were okay. His eyes flickered to Prue's wrist, which she was obviously favoring. Prue read his unspoken question and bit her lip slightly. She wasn't particularly keen to tell her ex-boyfriend that she'd been in a fight. Andy cared so much about her that he would take the idea about as well as Phoebe.

"Yeah… I got into a fight." Prue admitted, holding her left arm up a bit.

Andy's eyes narrowed with worry. "Are you okay?" He asked, the worry evident in his tone. His gaze flickered over her and he was relieved to see that she didn't appear too hurt. His thoughts moved on to why Prue would be in a fight with anyone. She didn't start fights so they would have attacked her first and that thought didn't sit well with him.

Prue smiled gratefully at his worry, but nodded that she was fine. "Yeah, you should have seen what he looked like after I got done with him. You wouldn't be so worried for me." She laughed, exaggerating just a little even though Roger had definitely come off worse.

"He?" Andy repeated, his worry growing. Women were barely ever attacked by men just because they got mad, it was usually because the woman wouldn't give them something they wanted. More often than not, a relationship. Andy's eyes looked over at her wrists again and could already see faint bruising around them as if whoever had grabbed her had tried to get control of her.

Prue frowned, recognizing her mistake and inwardly cursing at herself. "He's not going to be bothering me again. Honestly." She promised, offering him a faint smile. She hastily changed the subject, not wanting to continue this conversation on Roger. "So, uh, what are you doing here?"

Andy, a little reluctantly, dropped the subject. He was sure that, at least, Prue wasn't the type of person to put up with any crap. She wasn't afraid of handling a tough situation. "Murder investigation." He finally explained pointing toward the files that were still on the counter.

Prue didn't really know what to say about that and she looked down at her hands as an awkward silence fell between the two. Before she could come up with anything to say the receptionist came back and placed her insurance card, ID, and credit card in front of her as well as her release papers and a receipt.

"Just sign, here." She pointed to the dotted line on the receipt. "And here." A point to the bottom of the release papers. The receptionist then turned to Andy as Prue picked up the pen and hastily signed her name. "Dr. Gordon's office is to the left and down the hall. He's with a patient right now, but you're welcome to wait outside his office." With that she turned to leave, taking Prue's signed papers with her. "You're free to go." She called over her shoulder to Prue.

"Thank you." Andy returned and Prue echoed. There was another moment of silence before Andy put his hand out formally. "Well… it's good seeing you Prue."

"Yeah. You too, Andy. Take care." She answered and they both began to turn their separate ways. Prue was looking slightly upset at the formality and Andy apparently felt the same as he turned back to her.

"You know… your ride is busy." He nodded toward where Phoebe was pacing, still on the phone with whoever had called. He wasn't completely sure Phoebe was even Prue's ride, but it sounded good. "And Dr. Gordon's busy…. Can I buy you a black cup of coffee while we wait?" He asked hopefully. Andy smiled wider as he realized Prue couldn't quite hide her pleasure that he'd prolonged the reunion.

"Sure." _How could I say no?_ Prue thought, eagerly following him through the hospital, though careful to keep her emotions in check so as not to embarrass herself. Andy watched her closely thinking that she hadn't changed either. He remembered her eyes the most and was pleased to see the sparkle was just the same. "So, how are you an Inspector already?" She wondered curiously, breaking Andy's reverie.

"I'm just interning, but I get the title. If all goes well, once I graduate I can step right in." He explained. By this time the two had approached the coffee machine. "Of course, in any other city I'd be called a detective." Andy joked, unable to keep from gloating just a little.

Prue smiled and rolled her eyes. "Hmmm… Inspector's classier." She stated, as Andy put the coins into the machine.

"Liking it better already."

"Your dad must be so proud." Prue thought aloud.

"Third generation. You bet he's happy." He agreed, then decided to switch the topic toward her. "So how about you? You taking the world by storm?"

Prue thought over the recent events. The money issues, Phoebe suddenly coming back, her fight with Roger, more money problems, and the fact that she was still living in the same house she grew up in with her two sisters. Even if Piper tried to hide most of the money problems from her, she still knew about them and even felt partially responsible. "Uh… well, I'm still living in the Manor and taking classes at Golden State University. But on the plus side, I was awarded an on-campus job as the college's magazine photographer. It looks good…" Prue shrugged; there wasn't much to really say.

"Perfect." He replied, giving her the coffee.

"I thought you moved to Portland…" Prue trailed off pointedly.

"I'm back. With Dad's reputation down here it was much easier to get accepted as an intern. He pulled a few strings and got me an internship as 'Inspector,' instead of starting at the bottom." Andy explained with a half-smile.

Prue looked thoughtful. "Well, that's handy…" She commented, her thoughts invariably going to what Roger had told her earlier. 'It's all about who you know.' Her eyes darkened at the thought and she narrowed her eyes in determination. He wasn't going to be right…

Andy watched her curiously, recognizing some sort of inner conflict and he wondered what he had said that would trigger it. He was about to say something when a third party joined their conversation.

"Prue? You ready to go yet?" Phoebe called over the noise of the busy hospital.

Andy looked toward Phoebe before his eyes flickered back to Prue who had turned to look at Phoebe as well. "Uh, I'll talk to you soon?" He asked Prue with a hopeful smile.

Prue smiled at the thought and nodded. "Please." She watched Andy turn to leave for his meeting with Dr. Gordon before joining Phoebe a distant look in her blue eyes.

Phoebe, being Phoebe, couldn't stop herself from pointing it out and teasing her little sister as they finally left the hospital.

**Quake**

After leaving the hospital, Phoebe and Prue caught a taxi to take them back to Golden State University to pick up Prue's car. Phoebe insisted on driving, much to Prue's displeasure, and took her little sister to the popular restaurant, Quake, to get a drink. Prue had tried to call Piper to see if she wanted to meet them, but there was no answer and Prue decided that she must be out with Jeremy. The conversation remained formal and polite as the waitress brought out Prue's much-needed coffee and Phoebe's shot of tequila. After an awkward moment of silence Phoebe began to explain about what she had read the night before. Melinda Warren, their powers, and the prophecy of the Charmed Ones or The Power of Three.

"Umm… Phoebe?" Prue began hesitantly. "You do realize that you sound insane…" She pointed out after Phoebe trailed off, expecting a response.

Phoebe rolled her eyes before replying. "Last night I would have said the same thing, but I'm telling you there is no other explanation for me having seen that car about to hit those boys." Phoebe reiterated, trying desperately not to lose her patience. "I really think we are the Charmed Ones."

Prue stared at her for several long moments, trying to decide if Phoebe was actually being serious or was just trying to trick her. "The what?" She asked, figuring that was a safe enough question.

"The Charmed Ones. Three sisters with their own unique power. See the future, move objects, and stop time." Phoebe explained again while Prue just stared at her as if she was crazy. "Are you telling me, nothing strange happened to you today? You didn't freeze or move anything?" She pressed hopefully.

Prue hesitated a moment before answering. Her thoughts invariably flew back to her fight with Roger and how he had been thrown off her. "Do 'objects' include people?" Prue questioned hesitantly. She couldn't believe she was actually going along with this conversation. She hadn't believed in magic since she was six and Phoebe told her that Santa Claus wasn't real.

Phoebe thought the question over carefully. "I suppose, why?"

"Well, when I was, uh, fighting… He tried to hold me down, but he was thrown away from me. There wasn't anyone close enough to have pulled him off." She admitted slowly before she narrowed her eyes, convinced that Phoebe was trying to trick her again. "No, no, no. I'm sure I kicked him or something."

"Prue, what is it going to take for me to convince you that I'm not trying to trick you? Just once can't you trust me?" Phoebe demanded in frustration. She ran a hand through her hair and turned away from Prue.

Prue rolled her eyes in response. "Need I remind you that you've never really given me a reason to trust you?" Prue stated as much as asked only receiving a glare from Phoebe in return. "So where is my cream?" Prue wondered, mostly to herself as she looked around for it. Her eyes flickered to land on the cup of cream that was on the other side of Phoebe. It immediately began to move toward her. Phoebe looked up and watched at it passed her and stopped next to Prue, who was staring at it as if it was going to attack her. Prue started to say something, but stopped again as the cream disappeared from the cup and appeared in her coffee.

"You were saying?" Phoebe responded with a grin of triumph

Prue wasn't listening, still in shock. "Oh my god…" She whispered, her eyes never leaving her coffee.

Phoebe laughed teasingly at Prue's reaction. "Hmmm… this must mean that Piper can freeze time." She commented thoughtfully.

Prue took several deep breaths to try and calm herself, but to no avail. Her eyes landed on Phoebe's shot of tequila which she made a grab for and downed it in one gulp.

Phoebe stared at her, raising her eyebrows in concern. "Oh, sweetie. Are you okay?" She asked, watching Prue carefully.

"No, I am not okay. As if I didn't already have enough complications in my life!" Prue muttered, dropping her head into her hands. She didn't want to admit that when she felt the power course through her that it had felt so right. Just like Phoebe, she knew she was meant to do this.

Phoebe smiled and stood up, pulling Prue up after her. "Come on. We'll go get your prescription and then we'll have to figure out how to break it to Piper." She laughed cheerily despite the look Prue shot her.

~PO3~

After paying for the drinks, Phoebe and Prue walked to the nearby pharmacy. Phoebe was slightly ahead with Prue trailing after her, still partly in shock. After awhile of silence Prue's curiosity got the better of her and she asked for some elaboration from Phoebe.

"When I was looking through The Book of Shadows I saw these wood carvings… They looked like something out of a Bosch painting. All these terrifying images of three women battling different incarnations of evil." Phoebe was explaining.

"I thought witches were evil… I'm not evil!" Prue insisted, appearing distressed.

Phoebe smiled reassuringly to her little sister. "Don't worry; a witch can be either good **or** evil. A good witch follows the Wiccan rede 'An it harm none, do what ye will' while A bad witch or a warlock has but one goal. To kill good witches and obtain their powers. Unfortunately, they look like regular people. They could be anyone, anywhere." Phoebe clarified, putting her sister's mind at ease, at least partially.

"So how exactly do **we** fit into this?" Prue asked curiously.

"Well, in the first wood carving they were in slumber, but in the next they were battling some kind of warlock. I think that as long as we were in the dark about our powers, we were safe. Not anymore" She finished, glancing a little worriedly toward Prue that Prue missed as she studied the ground in thought.

**The Taxi**

Piper and Jeremy were sitting in the back of a cab on their way to Jeremy's house. They had just come from a Chinese restaurant and Piper was holding the fortune cookies that they had received upon paying. She was biting her lip nervously deciding whether to bring up her freezing thing to Jeremy. Finally she decided she had better use an around-about method.

"Has anything weird or unexplainable ever happened to you?" Piper asked slowly, refusing to look at Jeremy. Jeremy looked confused at the sudden question, but just shrugged it off.

"Sure, it's called luck or fate. Some call it miracles." He replied, his eyes not leaving Piper. He could tell she was distressed about something. "Why? What happened?" Jeremy questioned gently.

"Never mind. Even if I could tell you, you'd swear I was crazy. Open your fortune cookie." She ordered, forcing a smile and offering him the other cookie.

Jeremy studied her for a moment before taking the cookie and shifting positions. "Alright." He agreed and opened his cookie, pulling out the tiny slip of paper inside it. He forced his face to keep stoic and read it aloud. "Soon you will be on top." He nodded to himself as if he liked the idea and watched Piper's reaction out of the corner of his eyes.

"It doesn't say that." Piper accused, glaring at him playfully.

"Yes it does." Jeremy insisted, smiling innocently. Piper, still doubting, grabbed the paper out of his hand and began to read it. "Is it a bad thing?"

"Of the world. Soon you will be on top of the world." She corrected, rolling her chocolate brown eyes and throwing the paper back at him.

Jeremy laughed and got the cab driver's attention. "Hey, can you make a left on seventh please?" He asked rhetorically, pointing to the street.

"You got it." The driver responded and the cab turned in that direction.

"Seventh? I thought we were going to your place." Piper replied, looking at Jeremy quizzically.

"We are. But you reminded me of something. I want to show the old Bowing Building. The view of the Bay Bridge. It's amazing." Jeremy explained, flashing a charming smile back at Piper.

**The Pharmacy**

Prue and Phoebe were standing outside the desk of the Pharmacy, waiting on Prue's prescriptions. Phoebe handed the signed paper to the Pharmacist and he nodded to them.

"I'll be right back with your prescriptions." He answered and turned toward the back.

"Thanks." Prue offered, turning to look back at Phoebe for a moment. She suddenly became aware of the splitting headache that was now throbbing. She placed her hand to her head and turned back to face the pharmacist. "Uh, excuse me, where do you keep the aspirin?" Prue asked, trying her best not to let her thoughts wonder back to the witchy thing. It just made her head hurt more.

The Pharmacist looked up at the signs and pointed. "Aisle Three." He replied and disappeared into the back of the store.

Prue turned around and headed straight for Aisle Three. Phoebe turned around half-worried that maybe Prue was hurt more severely in her fight than she let on, but somehow she figured that wasn't the problem.

"Chamomile Tea works great for headaches." Phoebe suggested in an attempt to help.

"Not for this one it won't." Prue replied, her other hand gingerly touching her head as she turned into the aisle and began searching for the bottles of aspirin.

Phoebe smiled in understanding. It didn't have anything to do with the fight. She was upset about the witch thing. Phoebe, being Phoebe, couldn't pass up an opportunity to taunt her baby sister. It was just how their relationship went. "You know… I'm not afraid of our powers. I mean, everyone inherits something from their family, right?" Phoebe pointed out casually, picking up random bottles of medication off the shelves in order to read them before putting them back.

"Yeah… money, antiques, a strong disposition. That's what normal people inherit." Prue countered, her voice beginning to rise in frustration. She was so confused and Phoebe wasn't helping her sort it out.

"Who wants to be normal when we can be special?" Phoebe asked teasingly.

"**I** want to be normal. I want my life to be… you know isn't this Aisle Three?" Prue snapped her voice a pitch higher, as she spun around to look at the medication behind her.

"Hmmm… I guess being normal works out well for you, huh? I mean, you have your college planned out, a job, connections… What is it, Prue? Destiny getting in the way of your perfect life?" Phoebe questioned rhetorically, clearly enjoying the stress she was adding to Prue.

"Do you see any Aspirin?" Prue pleaded, choosing to ignore Phoebe, though her patience was clearly at its end.

"I see chamomile tea." Phoebe observed lightly.

Prue clenched her fists and turned to face Phoebe. "Okay, Phoebe. I have tried. I **really** have, but apparently the part of your brain that was meant to **take a hint** was not wired together properly. I do **not** want to discuss this with you. Your childish taunting is infuriating to work with and on top of that you're telling me to believe in something that you told me didn't exist when I was six. When I was supposed to believe it, you ruined it. Like you ruined everything else. Leave me alone, Phoebe, because all this talk of magic and powers and evil is giving me a migraine!" Prue yelled, not caring in the slightest who heard. By the end of her speech her rant had turned more into a plea for her older sister to understand.

"Then move your headache out of your mind." She retorted crossing her arms expectantly.

Prue glared at her older sister, her eyes blazing in barely contained anger due mostly from disappointment. A bottle of aspirin shot off the shelf and flew toward Prue, who accidently caught it. Prue stared down at it in confusion, distracting her thoughts from Phoebe.

A light bulb seemed to light up in Phoebe. "You move things when you're upset." Phoebe observed triumphantly.

"Just drop it, Phoebe." Prue hissed, looking as if she was about to throw the bottle of aspirin at Phoebe.

Phoebe crossed her arms in defiance. "Roger…" She taunted and the whole shelf of aspirin flew to land in the floor. She looked thoughtfully from Prue to the aspirin that Prue was picking up off the floor.  
>"Now let's talk about Dad and see what happens." Phoebe suggested rhetorically.<p>

"He's dead, Phoebe." Prue retorted sharply.

"No, he's moved from New York, but he's very much alive." Phoebe countered back.

"He isn't to me. He left us. He cares nothing for us so he might as well be." Prue argued, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"So, now we get to the real reason you're so upset with me. It has nothing do with any of this. You're mad he left you, you're mad I left to try to find him, and you're mad I came back. Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!" Phoebe jeered. In response everything on the shelves in Aisle Three flew through the air with a loud crash. Phoebe looked around at the destruction of Aisle Three. She glanced at Prue satisfied. "Feel better?" She asked.

Prue looked around and smiled softly. "Lots." She allowed.

"The Book of Shadows said our powers would grow." Phoebe explained, looking impressed and dropping the taunting act.

Prue's smile widened. "Grow to what?" Prue asked and started laughing. Phoebe quickly joined her. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

**The Bowing Building**

Jeremy pulled a half-reluctant Piper into the Bowing Building. He lightly kicked the door open and cheerfully turned back to her. "Well, here we are." He told her stepping aside so Piper could enter.

Just outside the door Piper hesitated. "I don't care how amazing the view is. I'm not going in there." She stated defiantly, looking around at the dark shadows and the old creaky walls doubtfully.

Jeremy smiled and took her hand gently pulling her along with him. "Come on, Come on. I have a surprise inside." He explained. They entered the old elevator and Jeremy lowered the door. With a press of a button the elevator began to move slowly upward. He stepped back to join Piper calmly. "You're going to love this. I bet you'll tell Phoebe and Prue the moment you see them." Jeremy added.

Piper suddenly looked a little confused and she turned to look at Jeremy quizzically. "I never mentioned Phoebe came home." She stated, wondering who he'd gotten the information from before she had a chance to tell him.

"Whoops…" He muttered and stuck his hand in his back pocket feigning casualness. The next second he had spun around with a knife pointed straight at Piper, who jumped slightly in surprise.

"What is that?" Piper asked, taking a step back, but not really frightened since she was with Jeremy.

"It's your surprise." He answered twirling the knife in his hand and taking a small step toward her.

"Jeremy, stop it… you're scaring me." She ordered, looking aggravated. He continued to advance. "Damn it! I'm serious!" She snapped, taking on the voice she used against Prue when her little sister got her nerves.

Jeremy grinned, enjoying her ignorance and kept advancing slowly. "So am I. See I've waited six months for this. Ever since Grams went to the hospital. I've known for quite some time that as soon as the old witch croaked, all your powers would be released. Powers that would reveal themselves as soon as the four of you got back together again. All that was needed was for Phoebe to return." He explained.

A look of horror flashed across Piper's face as she tried to circle around to get as far away from him as the elevator would allow. After a few moments she regained her voice. "It was you wasn't it? You killed all those women." Piper stated, almost in disbelief.

"Not women…. Witches." Jeremy clarified.

"Why?" Piper asked in a small voice.

Jeremy held up his other hand and flames shot out of his fingertips. "It was the only way to receive their powers…" He explained grinning. His face began to contort and his voice became deeper and darker as he finished. "…And now I want yours." He raised the knife above his head ready to plunge it into her as he had so many others.

Piper screamed and instinctively threw her hands up in front of her. Just before it hit her, everything, including him froze. She stood there in shock for a split moment before looking desperately for a way out. "Okay… Think, Stay calm… Think, think, think. I gotta get outta here." She muttered to herself seeing her only escape being to climb out of the frozen elevator. She carefully moved around Jeremy, watching him closely in case he unfroze before climbing out onto the next level. Just as she set foot on the floor Jeremy unfroze and grabbed her leg, trying to pull her back in. Piper screamed again and reached for the stairs to grab on to. As her grip on the stairs was about to give way she reached for a long piece of wood, which she turned around and hit him across the head with. Jeremy fell to floor unconscious and Piper ran off as fast as she could for home.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Prue, immediately upon entering the Manor, ran through the house searching for Piper while Phoebe made her way to the answering machine to see if Piper had left a message. Phoebe clicked the button and Roger's voice filled the room.

"Prue, its Roger. I've decided to forgive you for starting the fight. Seriously, let's talk." The machine clicked off and the room was left in silence until Prue came walking in, holding a white cat formerly seen at the aforementioned victim's apartment.

"Well, Piper is definitely not home unless she's turned into a cat." Prue called, putting the cat down on the ground.

Phoebe glanced down at the cat curiously. "How'd you get in, huh?" She asked the cat rhetorically before she looked back up at Prue. "Piper didn't leave a message, but Roger did." Phoebe announced silently fuming at the guy's nerve.

"Oh…" Prue murmured, avoiding eye contact and looking down at the cat.

"If he calls again I want to know about. We'll call your boyfriend and get him to file a restraining order, 'kay?" Phoebe suggested, though her tone of voice clearly stated that Prue didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Prue nodded but frowned at Phoebe's choice of words. "First of all, Andy is not my boyfriend. Second, I'm already moving classes so I'll have no contact whatsoever. You've got nothing to worry about." Prue explained.

Phoebe rolled her eyes teasingly at Prue's denial. "You're going to be going out with him by the end of the weekend." She predicted without a hint of doubt.

"Premonition?" Prue asked curiously.

"Intuition." Phoebe corrected.

There was a moment silence before both sisters turned upon hearing the front door open. Piper pushed through the open doorway and quickly closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Piper?" Prue called in surprise and worry.

Piper immediately looked to Prue, falling into her big sister orders. "Lock the doors, check the windows. We don't have a lot of time." She ordered before turning to Phoebe who was watching her intently. "Phoebe, in the Book of Shadows did it say anything about how to get rid of a…"

"Warlock?" Phoebe guessed, her eyes darkening in worry, mostly for her little sisters.

Prue didn't wait for any more instructions. She took off around the house, checking all the windows and locking the back door.

**The Bowing Building**

Jeremy regained consciousness in the elevator where Piper had left him and picked up his knife. He climbed out and ran outside. "I'll get you, you bitch." He muttered to himself as he ran down the street.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper and Prue met at the bottom of the stairs after checking all the windows. Prue now had her camera strapped around her neck, which she was fiddling nervously with. "Maybe we should call the cops." Prue suggested hesitantly, reaching out for the phone, though she looked to Piper for permission.

Piper shook her head immediately and grabbed Prue's hands to stop her. "And tell them what? That we're witches? That some freak with powers beyond comprehension is trying to kill us? Even if the cops did come, they'd be no match for Jeremy and we'd be next." Piper argued rationally.

Before they could argue more about it, Phoebe appeared at the top of the stairs. "I found the answer." Phoebe called confidently, disappearing back up the stairs. Prue and Piper exchanged a quick glance before Piper grabbed Prue's hand and pulled her up the stairs.

~PO3~

In the attic Phoebe already had everything set up. A low table sat in the middle with a pot, ingredients, and The Book of Shadows opened to a certain page. There were candles set up in a circle around it. Phoebe was getting the last few needed objects from the trunk and Piper pulled Prue into the circle where they sat down. Prue and Piper cast a nervous glance toward each other as Phoebe came back and joined them. Prue and Piper, skimmed over the ritual they were about to perform and looked to make sure they had everything.

"Alright… so we've placed the nine candles anointed with oil and spices in a circle." Prue observed looking around them.

"Wait… I only count eight." Piper interrupted, counting and recounting.

"Oh, you forgot this one!" Phoebe countered, holding up a small birthday candle for them to see.

"A birthday candle?" Piper asked in disbelief.

Prue almost laughed at her tone of voice, and Phoebe quickly lit it on fire. "I guess Grams was a little low on witch supplies." Phoebe offered in an attempt to lighten the mood. She hesitated as a flash of light lit up around her. "Okay, Prue. We're gonna have to set some ground rules. No taking pictures while we're having a witchy crisis. Witchy time is **not** photography time!" She snapped with a roll of her eyes.

"What are you even doing with a camera right now?" Piper demanded, staring at Prue as if she was crazy. Now certainly wasn't the best time for photography.

Prue glared at her sisters defiantly. "It makes me feel better, okay?" She returned, reluctantly letting the camera fall loosely around her neck and crossing her arms across her chest instead. Her eyes flickered over the open Book of Shadows. "Okay, next we need the poppet." Prue continued a little disgruntled as she looked from sister to sister.

Piper stared at Prue for another moment before speaking. "Got it." She called and reached down beside her to pull it up. She sat it in front of her on the table.

Phoebe placed the lit birthday candle into the pot. "I think we're ready." Phoebe announced, changing positions.

"First, I'll make it stronger." Piper interrupted and took a rose that Prue was offering her and placed it on top of the poppet. "Your love will wither and depart from my life and my heart. Let me be, Jeremy, and go away forever." She chanted and pressed the rose into the poppet before placing it into the pot. "Alright, the spell's complete."

"Let's just hope it works…" Prue whispered as the rose and poppet began to smoke. The smoke rolled over the sides of the pot to fill the attic, Phoebe and Piper watched intently in silence while Prue was restraining herself from taking a cool picture. Suddenly, it exploded, catching on fire and causing the three sisters to jump in surprise.

~PO3~

Jeremy, who was running down the street toward the Halliwell Manor stopped and screamed in pain. He began writhing in agony as hundreds of thorns tore through his skin.

~PO3~

The sisters were cleaning up the stuff for the ritual when Phoebe picked up the pot and was thrown into a premonition.

_Jeremy was writhing in pain, holding on tightly to a chain link fence. But he shook it off and continued down the road._

Phoebe stood up frantically. "Wait… It didn't work." She yelled after them. Piper and Prue turned back to face Phoebe looking confused.

"Huh?" Prue asked softly.

"The spell, it didn't work." Phoebe clarified

"How do you know?" Piper asked grabbing tightly onto Prue's arm.

"When I touched the pot, I had a flash. I saw Jeremy." She explained.

"You can do that?" Prue asked in surprise.

"He's on his way here." Phoebe finished running towards them. Identical fear flashed across all three of their faces before Piper pushed out of the attic, pulling Prue along with her. Phoebe close behind.

They all ran to door and Prue reached out and opened it. "Come on." She called, not realizing immediately that Jeremy was already here. Piper screamed and jumped back in fear while Phoebe stared in horror, running toward Prue. Prue spun around to face Jeremy and immediately tried to back away.

"Prue!" Phoebe screamed, grabbing tightly onto her little sister and pulling her away from Jeremy just as he lunged forward with his athame. Phoebe pushed Prue farther back behind her and into Piper's arms.

"Hello, ladies." Jeremy greeted stepping into the Manor, twirling the knife threateningly in front of them. He was none-too-disappointed by his two previous setbacks.

The sisters slowly moved as one, backing away toward the stairs. Prue used her power to send him flying back into the wall as he got a little too close to Phoebe for comfort.

"Piper, Prue. Get up the stairs now!" Phoebe ordered while he was distracted. She felt her two younger sisters turn and run toward the stairs. Jeremy, recovering quickly, threw his knife toward the departing two sisters.

Prue screamed as the knife flew toward her. Piper threw her hands out in fear and the knife stopped just inches away from Prue's camera. Prue looked at it thoughtfully before turning flashing eyes on Jeremy as Piper grabbed the knife and tossed it to the ground. "You almost broke my camera!" She yelled in disbelief and anger.

Jeremy was thrown into the wall by another blast of telekinesis from Prue followed by Phoebe picking up a nearby chair and hitting him over the head with it. Phoebe immediately turned and ran up next to her sisters. She motioned for Piper to move on up as she grabbed Prue's arms and pulled her up after her. "Prue, forget about your camera and get up the stairs!" She hissed, her voice strained from dragging Prue along.

"This camera was expensive!" Prue retorted, but she obediently ran past Phoebe on up the stairs. "On the plus side, you were right. Our powers really are growing." She added cheerfully when both she and Phoebe had met Piper in the attic.

Phoebe helped Piper move furniture in front of the attic door. "Put as many things against the door as we can." Piper directed, while her and Phoebe pushed a heavy dresser against it. Prue grabbed a chair and sat it on top before they all backed as far away as possible. Phoebe in the middle with Prue slightly in front of her but to the left and Piper on Phoebe's right.

From outside the door they could hear Jeremy's taunting voice echo through. "Can't take me now, Witches. My powers are stronger than yours." His voice deepening into the demonic tone, followed by a laugh. "Do you think a chair will stop me?" He asked as the chair flew away from the door. "Do you think a dresser will stop me?" The dresser slid away from the door to slam against the wall. "Haven't you witches figured it out? Nothing… nothing will keep us away."

Phoebe again pulled a reluctant Prue back behind her while Piper glanced at Prue in fear. "What do we do? We're trapped!" She shouted in panic, looking for direction from Phoebe. Before Phoebe could say anything the door exploded and all three sisters screamed and jumped back more.

Prue grabbed Phoebe's hand in one and Phoebe, catching on, grabbed Piper's hand. "What about the Spirit Board?" Prue suggested, her eyes looking hopefully toward Phoebe and Piper.

"The inscription on the back…" Piper realized and glanced at Phoebe who nodded.

"The Power of Three will set us free." Prue yelled as a circle of fire surrounded them.

"We have to say it together." Phoebe ordered with a glance over her shoulder at her sisters before turning back to face Jeremy.

"The Power of Three will set us free." They all chanted over and over as the circle of fire turned into a strong wind.

"I am not the only one! I am one of millions! In places you can't even imagine! In forms you would never believe! We are hell on this earth. And you will never be… Free!" He shouted and blew up as the sisters chanted one last time.

Silence fell over the attic and was only broken when Prue glanced up at them smiling slightly. "Hmmm… I rather like this Power of Three." She mused, tilting her head innocently to the side when Phoebe and Piper cast her funny looks.

~PO3~

The next morning Prue exited the Manor and reached down for the paper on their steps. As she stood back up she heard a familiar voice call.

"Good Morning." She looked up to find Andy getting out of his car, holding a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

Prue smiled and walked down the remaining steps toward him. "Hey! This is a surprise." Prue greeted cheerfully.

"I've been feeling really guilty about that bad cup of coffee. I just wanted to make it up to you." Andy explained, closing what was left of the distance between them.

"So, you brought me a good cup of coffee?" Prue guessed, eyeing the cup in his hand.

He followed her gaze down to the cup. "Oh this? No this is mine." He clarified and then began to look slightly nervous. "I, uh, just wanted to ask you out to dinner. Unless of course, you're afraid." Andy added, watching her closely.

Prue blushed ever-so-slightly and bit her lip nervously. "Afraid of what?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, having too good a time, stirring up old memories, rekindling an old flame." He joked casually.

Prue nodded slightly as he spoke as if she agreed. "Hmm…Good point. Better not." Prue replied, going along with the joke.

"Okay." Andy responded lightly and then continued unfazed. "Friday night; 8 o'clock?" Prue took several moments of silence to pretend to think his offer over. A faint smile flashed across Andy's face as he recognized her high school habit. The mischievous look in her eyes had always been a give-away.

"I think I can work you in." Prue finally answered. "But… just in case, I think I should get your number." She added with a sly smile.

"Sure." Andy agreed as he pulled one of his business cards out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Although, I can't guarantee I'll have another time. You see, I'm a **very** busy person." He continued, straightening himself up as if he was extremely important. His tone was serious, but his eyes gave away his sarcasm.

Prue rolled her eyes as she took the card from him and laughed softly. "I'll keep that in mind. In fact, maybe I should thank you for taking time out of your **busy** schedule to stop by." She countered, taking a step toward him.

Andy glanced at his watch and saw he needed to head on to work. He leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear. "How about you thank me on Friday?" He suggested.

"I might be able to arrange that." Prue allowed softly.

Andy gave her a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back. "Take care, Prue." He called softly, turning to leave.

"Bye, Andy." She echoed and then looked back as the door to the Manor opened and her two sisters walked out, Piper in the lead. Phoebe was looking smug as her prediction was sure to have occurred and Piper had a teasing glint in her eyes as they flickered between Prue and Andy.

"I told you I heard a man's voice." Piper spoke in an I-told-you-so voice. The two other sisters joined Prue as Andy reached his car. He looked up and narrowed his eyes in surprise upon seeing Phoebe holding the white cat he'd seen in that murdered woman's apartment. He just shrugged to himself and headed to work.

"Oh, look. It's Andy. What a surprise." Phoebe replied sarcastically, looking from Prue to Andy and back again.

"What did he want?" Piper asked excitedly. Prue smiled wider, but she hesitated.

"He asked you out, didn't he?" Phoebe pressed, giving Prue a teasing look.

"I didn't say that…" Prue stammered crossing her arms while her older sisters smiled knowingly.

"What did you say?" Phoebe demanded grinning.

Prue opened her mouth to answer but Piper beat her to it. "She said yes, of course. Prue never could say no to Andy, remember?" Piper reminded Phoebe, still using her teasing voice.

"Oh, that is **so** not true." Prue argued, glaring at them.

Phoebe and Piper raised their eyebrows pointedly while Prue's defiance faded a little in silent agreement. "It's okay, sis. Andy's always been sweet." Phoebe replied, putting her free arm around Prue and steering her back up the steps.

Prue suddenly frowned slightly and her eyes flickered from Phoebe to Piper worriedly. "What about the warlocks? How are my dates supposed to work out with them popping in randomly?"

"We'll worry about that when the time comes, but at least our lives won't be boring." Phoebe assured her, ever the optimist.

"But they'll never be the same…" Prue reminded them.

"And this is a bad thing?" Phoebe countered.

"Not necessarily, but it could be." Prue pointed out.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, her eyes turned to Phoebe as well.

"What can't we do?" Phoebe retorted, stroking the cat softly.

Piper and Prue laughed in agreement. "This should be interesting." Piper remarked, walking into the house followed closely by Phoebe and finally Prue. Prue looked back at the door about to close it when she smiled mischievously. Instead she flicked her hand and it magically swung shut.


	2. I've Got You Under My Skin

_AN: So I still wasn't sure if I was going to go any farther, but I decided it was a good alternative if I didn't want to write my other story. It allows me to get away from the other so that it doesn't get boring. It obviously took me a long time since I never really focused on it, but here it is. I'm not particularly happy with one of the arguments between Phoebe and Prue since they both end up being a little immature and I'm sure you'll know which one I'm talking about when you read it. The rest I like though. For the most part._

_Also, I will definitely give Phoebe a power boost as she's the eldest in this one, but it might be closer to the middle of the season before there's any real change. I think I might let her grow into her empathy power earlier so that she could get to her power of pathokinesis which is how she killed Cal Greene in the episode 'Morality Bites'_

_That's it I guess. Go ahead and read and please review._

**I've Got You Under My Skin**

**Quake**

Phoebe pushed through the crowd heading to the side of the bar where the cash register was. Piper was supposed to be working there tonight. Phoebe narrowed her eyes as she saw it deserted, but figured Piper was helping someone in the back and would be out in a moment. She headed for the seat and almost ran into a couple entering the restaurant because she had been focusing on it instead of her surroundings.

"Oops… Sorry." Phoebe apologized and the couple smiled at her as they walked by. Once through the main crowd, Piper intercepted her looking frustrated and nervous.

"I'm gonna kill him." Piper muttered, throwing her hands up dramatically. She grabbed a bill folder off a table and walked toward the cash register.

"Who?" Phoebe asked, glancing around in confusion before she followed Piper.

"Chef Moore. He with the phony accent hires me and then quits to open his own place. Thank you very much." Piper ranted going behind the cash register as Phoebe took a seat at the bar.

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" Phoebe asked with raised eyebrows as she watched Piper swipe the card that she pulled out of the bill folder. Piper ignored her; a sure sign that she didn't want Phoebe's ass-kicking services. She did, however, swipe the credit card in her hand harder than necessary. "I don't see any customers complaining." Phoebe pointed out as a compliment to her stressed younger sister.

"Hello! I am not a restaurant tour. I am a chef. I have no idea what I'm doing!" She hissed and then looked at a nearby waitress that was passing by. "Table number four." Piper ordered placing a receipt in the bill folder and passing it to the waitress.

The waitress gave the slightest of nods and walked away before Piper allowed herself to relax ever-so-slightly.

She looked over Phoebe for a moment and suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Are you wearing my dress?" She demanded, her voice rising slightly.

Before Phoebe could answer another young woman with curly blonde hair walked up and took the seat next to Phoebe. Phoebe, glad for the distraction, turned toward the woman. "Hey, Britney! Ooh. I love the tattoo." She complimented, taking Britney's hand to get a better look at the angel tattooed on the back.

"Oh thanks." Britney acknowledged, waving at Piper with her other hand.

"I thought it was illegal to get them on your hand because of the veins." Phoebe stated.

"In the States, yeah, I got it done in Tahiti." She explained, handing Piper some cash. "Oh keep the change Piper. I gotta jam." She added cheerfully.

Phoebe waved farewell and Piper nodded. "Okay. Say hi to Max for me." Piper wished as Britney retreated. Piper waved over another waitress and handed another bill folder to her. "Table nine please." Piper instructed and the waitress left. She took a deep breath before glancing over Phoebe again. "So back to my dress…"

Phoebe wasn't listening as she looked to her right at a handsome man sitting alone at the table. She was immediately thrown into a premonition.

_Alec stood up and approached Phoebe, sitting down beside her and offering to buy her a martini._

Phoebe grinned to herself and got the attention of her younger sister. "See that poster boy to your left?" She asked. Piper looked to her left in curiosity. "Just glance… don't be obvious" Phoebe snapped softly when Piper took too much time to study Alec.

Piper immediately glanced away and nodded slightly. "I approve. Who is he?" She asked glancing again back at him.

"His name is Alec and he's about to come over and ask if he could buy me a martini." Phoebe replied eagerly.

"How do you know?" Piper asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Let's just say I've solved the age old problem of who approaches whom first… I had a little premonition." She gloated, running a hand through her hair self-consciously.

"What? Phoebe! You're not supposed to use your powers. We agreed." Piper hissed, crossing her arms.

"No, technically you ordered Prue not to and I never once said anything about siding with you." Phoebe reminded her with a shrug. Besides, it's not like I can control it. It just popped into my head." Phoebe countered defensively.

"That's the point! None of us can control our powers. That's what scares me. I could panic and freeze the entire restaurant." Piper replied, throwing her hands up pointedly. "And anyways, it sets a bad example for Prue. What do you think she's going to do with her power if she thinks she can use whenever she wants?" Piper challenged. Knowing Prue she would probably inconspicuously trip someone or throw something at people who got on her nerves.

Phoebe shrugged nonchalantly, all thoughts of Prue vanishing as she caught sight of Alec getting up. "Shhh… here he comes." She hissed, trying to act casual. Piper sent one last glare at Phoebe before Piper went back to play with the cash register.

Alec approached and waved at Piper before getting Phoebe's attention. "Hey, I was just sitting over there and was wondering if I could buy you a martini or something." He offered hopefully.

Phoebe smiled seductively and glanced at Piper with triumphant brown eyes. "Martini hmmmm? Imagine that. I would love one." She answered, getting to her feet. "It's Alec right?" Phoebe asked feigning ignorance. Piper rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Yeah, how'd you know my name?" Alec asked in surprise.

"Wild guess." Phoebe got to her feet and lightly pushed Alec toward the table he had been sitting at. Before she left she turned one last time to her sister. Piper glanced over and grabbed her hand making her listen.

"If I catch you flaunting your power in front of Prue I'm going to be pissed." She warned and Phoebe shrugged it off.

"News flash… stop worrying, you'll get wrinkles." Phoebe retorted, flashing her sister one more innocent smile before following Alec to his table.

Piper, silently fuming, watched Phoebe walk away and then turned back to the register where the bill folders were beginning to pile up.

~PO3~

Outside Quake, Britney walked out to her car. She turned it on and adjusted her rearview mirror so she could touch up her make-up. After a moment she adjusted it back and saw someone's eyes staring from the back of her car. She spun around in fear and screamed as he grabbed hold of her.

**The Halliwell Manor**

The next morning, Piper was in the kitchen watching a documentary about witches during the Salem Witch Trial, while whisking some eggs for breakfast. She looked up from the TV as she heard the front door open and close and a glowing Prue skipped into the kitchen.

"Morning." Prue greeted cheerfully, making her way to the refrigerator.

"Morning." Piper echoed her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you **just** get home from your date?" She demanded, dropping her beaten eggs on the counter and crossing her arms. Prue opened her mouth to reply but became side-tracked by the TV. Piper's eyes widened slightly in embarrassment and hurriedly grabbed for the remote and switched off the T.V.

Prue pulled the milk out of the refrigerator, her head tilted to the side in curiosity as she studied the now blank TV screen. "What were you watching?" She asked curiously as she sat the milk on the counter.

"Nothing… just a show." Piper answered hastily, somewhat embarrassed to be seen watching the documentary.

"About witches? Are you worried we're going to be burned at the stake?" Prue asked teasingly with a small smile.

Piper forced a laugh and tried to look nonchalant though it didn't fool Prue. "Yeah right…" She offered and then switched the topic back to Prue. "Anyways, don't change the subject."

Prue rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, **Mom**." She answered promptly, pouring herself a glass of milk. "Isn't it obvious?" Prue added, waving a hand at herself. She was still wearing the dark blue dress she'd left in the night before and her hair was still in loose curls, though now they were hanging down instead of pulled back.

"Don't get smart with me Prudence Halliwell." Piper muttered in her scolding tone.

Prue obediently lowered her eyes apologetically. "Sorry."

Piper shrugged it off. "So, the date? How was it?" She probed, a large smile crossing her features. She sensed some juicy gossip coming from her baby sister. Piper's brown eyes were narrowed in a scrutinizing manner, watching for any hint of a lie.

Prue looked back up from her drink with a large grin. "Perfect." Prue explained cryptically. She met Piper's eyes and found herself elaborating for her older sister. "You know, dinner, movie… sex."

"On your first date? You sleaze…" Piper exclaimed loudly though she wasn't too surprised.

Prue shrugged, frowning slightly and hoping that Phoebe hadn't heard Piper's exclamation. "Well, I don't normally have sex on the first date… but it wasn't exactly our first date." She paused a moment and she smiled again. "And besides, it was with Andy." Prue added as if that explained everything.

Piper nodded but rolled her eyes. She understood, but she didn't approve. "High school doesn't count." She retorted but couldn't quite keep her curiosity hidden. "Spill it." She prodded eagerly.

Prue looked thoughtful for a moment before she grabbed her cup of milk and walked out of the kitchen heading for the stairs. She wasn't particularly keen to give her older sisters details.

"Ooh… that bad?" Piper asked, following. It was obvious that it wasn't 'that bad' from Prue's extremely cheerful mood, but it was the best way to get an elaboration.

"No… that good. We were amazing." Prue explained smugly, glancing over her shoulder to look at Piper. "Now, I need to take a shower before my interview." Prue was already heading up the stairs when she froze upon hearing Phoebe come running into the Foyer from the Solarium.

"Prue!" Phoebe yelled, storming up to her younger sisters with blazing brown eyes. "Where have you been?" She demanded, hands on her hips.

Piper's eyes widened and she immediately stepped between her eldest and her youngest sister, hands outstretched to stop Phoebe from getting too close to Prue. "Phoebe…" She murmured in an attempt to calm her older sister down.

Phoebe ignored Piper and stared past her to Prue obviously expecting an explanation.

"Uh, with Andy." Prue answered in her 'obviously' voice. She was a little confused by Phoebe's attitude and therefore took a sip of her drink to avoid her sister's eyes.

"You were with him **all** night?" Phoebe pressed, her voice rising steadily. She received a short nod from Prue. "You couldn't even have the decency to **call** and let us know?" Phoebe snapped.

Prue rolled her eyes. "You knew I was on a date and we were kinda busy." Prue countered, glancing at Piper for help. "And anyways, Andy is a cop. I think I'm safe."

"Phoebe… let it go. You weren't back until three this morning." Piper jumped in before the argument could escalate. "I've already gotten on to Prue about staying out all night. So, let's just go eat breakfast." She mediated, pointing hopefully toward the kitchen.

"Wait! How come **she's **allowed to stay out until three? That's not much better…" Prue argued indignantly.

"Because I'm older and not a **teenager**." Phoebe returned as if that settled the matter.

Prue snorted. "Could've fooled me. At least I knew who I was sleeping with."

Piper dropped her head into her hands, fully aware that the conversation was now out of her control.

Phoebe's eyes flashed angrily but, catching sight of Piper, forced herself to take several deep breaths to calm herself. "FYI I did not sleep with him." She replied through clenched teeth. "And I had Piper's approval as well as a little supernatural approval."

"You used your powers?" Prue asked with eyes wide with disbelief. "We're not supposed to use our powers for personal gain…" She muttered, glancing at Piper.

"I give up." Piper announced throwing her hands in the air dramatically. "Don't put me in the middle…" She protested, stepping back to allow her sisters to work out their own issues.

"I'm not. You were born in the middle." Prue retorted cheekily, flashing an innocent smile to lighten the mood.

Piper narrowed her eyes at Phoebe. "I told you not to flaunt your power, Phoebe." She hissed in frustration.

"Sorry, Piper, but I never agreed with anything you two decided on about our powers." Phoebe pointed out with a stern look at her younger sisters. "You two, do what you want." She allowed. "I don't really care if Prue uses her powers."

"Phoebe, don't you understand. It's not all about Prue! Warlocks could **find** us. **Kill **us. Does that not matter to you?" Piper snapped in irritation. Her eyes flickered to look at a pretty confused Prue silently saying 'Don't get any ideas.' "Have you forgotten Jeremy? What he almost did to us?" Piper added, shuddering slightly at the fearful encounter with her now ex-fiancé.

Phoebe sighed in aggravation. "If we don't use them, we can't protect ourselves. They're going to find us anyway." She argued, feeling a stab of guilt at countering Piper's view of the situation. She knew Piper was just trying to protect them… especially Prue. "Look, it was just a lousy premonition, that's all. Nobody died."

Prue bit her lip thoughtfully deciding now was as good a time as any bring it up. "There's another reason we should to be careful. Andy thinks there's someone abducting women in our area." She warned carefully, looking between Piper and Phoebe.

"Abducting women?" Phoebe asked sounding worried.

"Yeah, so we don't need to forget about the mortal evil just because we now deal with supernatural evil." Prue explained, looking down at her cup for a moment. "Now, I **really** need to go get ready." She decided, turning around and heading up the stairs.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes as she watched Prue disappear up the steps. "I'm really going to have to talk with that guy." She breathed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Keeping her out all night…"

"Phoebe, leave Andy alone. We both allowed her to go on the date and he's always been a great friend if not a boyfriend." Piper broke in, snapping Phoebe out of her reverie. "Besides, Prue can take care of herself and Andy would never let anything happen to her."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it…" Phoebe reluctantly consented.

**San Francisco Police Department**

Andy was sitting behind his desk looking at a photo of Britney as Max explained that she was missing. Darryl was pacing down the small hall and took the photo from Andy as he walked by.

"She didn't come home at all last night. That's not like Britney, believe me." Max finished, looking worried as Darryl brought the picture back to him.

"Tell me, Max. What time did she leave to go to Quake?" Darryl asked professionally.

"8:30. She called around 10:00, said she was on her way home, but I'm really worried." Max replied as Andy fiddled with a pen, thinking of the similarities between Britney and some of the other women that had been called in missing.

"Chances are she'll show up. They usually do." Andy offered as assurance.

"It's best if you go home in case she calls. Can you do that?" Darryl added, giving a slight nod to Andy as the young cop stood to his feet.

"Yeah. Thanks." Max agreed, nodding his head and shaking Andy's outstretched hand before turning to leave.

As Max left, Andy walked out from behind his desk to join Morris, carrying his cup of coffee. "That's the fourth one this week." Andy pointed out.

"Yeah, well they can't just be disappearing into thin air." Morris replied and then looked closer at Andy. "Did you do something to your hair?"

Andy glanced over at him, but took a sip of coffee in order to have an excuse not to answer that last question. "At least we've narrowed down his feeding pool to the area around the restaurant." He added, in a more positive tone.

Darryl grinned knowingly and pushed past Andy. "Well, better tell your sweetie to lock the door at night." He called, leaving Andy to stare after him with a look of agitation.

**Church**

Piper pulled up beside the nearest church in her van. She looked up at the main entrance debating whether she should enter or not. Normally she wouldn't have hesitated a moment, but since watching that documentary on witches that morning she had her doubts whether they were good or evil. As she pondered the idea a man walked up to the passenger's side window and knocked gently. Piper jumped at the unexpected sound as the man bent down to talk with her through her rolled down window.

"Ooh. Pastor Williams, you scared me…" She admitted putting her hand over her heart as she took a deep breath to calm it down.

"Sorry." He apologized smiling slightly. "Aren't you a little early?" Pastor Williams added. Piper frowned in confusion, obviously trying to think of what he was talking about. He seemed to notice because he elaborated. "Dropping off the unused food from your restaurant. I thought you weren't coming by until this afternoon."

Comprehension dawned on her face as she jumped to explain. "Yeah, I am. I'm coming back later… with everything." She answered awkwardly and nodding to herself.

"Great… So what are you doing here now?" He asked.

"Nothing really… just thinking…." Piper explained cryptically.

"About?" Pastor Williams prodded carefully.

Piper bit her lip uncertainly and answered reluctantly. "Mary Estee…"

"Who?" He asked in confusion.

Piper rolled her eyes, inwardly kicking herself. "It's just a stupid documentary I saw." She muttered hastily and then laughed trying to act casual as she changed positions to better look at Pastor Williams. "By the way, is it true that evil beings can't go into a church without being…?" Piper trailed off and made a motion with her hands symbolizing being hit by lightning.

Pastor Williams laughed and Piper awkwardly joined in. "Evil beings? Like what? Vampires?" He suggested.

"Vampires, uh no. I was thinking more along the line of… witches." Piper corrected casually though listening to his every word intently.

"Witches huh?" Pastor Williams paused seeming to think about it for a moment. "Let me put it to you this way. I sure wouldn't want to risk it." Piper frowned, but nodded slightly. "I gotta go. See you later?"

"Yeah, right, absolutely." She replied, being pulled back from her train of thought. Pastor Williams walked away leaving Piper to look back toward the entrance to the church. She narrowed her eyes in determination and pushed the door open. She slowly approached the church door, outstretching her hand for the handle. Just before she closed her hand around it a crack of thunder rumbled in the distance and she jumped away in fear, hastily returning to her van.

"**4 Us by Us" Magazine Studio**

Prue jumped out of her car and promptly grabbed all the papers and her picture portfolio for her interview. She threw her purse over her shoulder and made sure her camera was fastened safely around her neck before taking off across the parking lot. With the coming home later than she had anticipated, the prolonged sister talk, and the traffic on the way over to the studio, she was running quite late. Prue stopped just inside the doors and read over the floor titles until she found the Magazine Studio. Twelfth floor. The building the Magazine studio was in was next to the campus and was also the same building for the school newspaper, the graphic designing, some classes on the subjects, etc. Without a moment to spare she raced toward the elevator that had just begun to close.

"Hold the door." She called, praying that someone would stop it from closing since she couldn't miss that elevator. Prue squeezed through at the last minute, but her purse hit the door and slipped from her arm, spilling the contents on the floor. "Damn it!" She muttered bending down to pick it all up. "Can you push twelve, please" She pleaded to the man closest to the numbers.

He did so and bent down to help her. "Here, let me help." He offered, picking up some of her pictures that had spilled out onto the floor and looking at them curiously. His eyes flickered over to land on the expensive camera around Prue's neck. "A 450D? Do you work in the magazine studio upstairs?" He asked, sounding impressed as Prue grabbed her last piece of merchandise off the floor and stood up.

"Sorta… I'm, uh, interviewing for a spot." Prue explained and added as an afterthought. "If I ever get there in time. Don't let me get my photographs mixed up." She carefully took all the papers from him and silence fell across the elevator. She glanced up to see the floor they were on and saw they had just reached three. She let out an impatient sigh as she looked at the time on her watch. Prue vaguely realized that she was the only woman on the elevator, but the ringing of her phone caught her attention. She flashed an apologetic look at the men in the elevator as they all turned to look at her, but answered her phone anyways.

"Hello?" She answered, expecting to hear the voice of one of her sisters. Her eyes widened as she recognized Andy's voice on the other end. "Hey, Andy." Prue started enthusiastically and then remembered the people in the elevator. "Uh, can I call you back?" Prue pleaded softly, turning away slightly.

On the other line Andy was sitting on the edge of his desk at the police station, using his work phone. "Prue, I need to talk to you." He replied in quite a serious tone.

Prue inwardly flinched. Starting off a sentence with 'I need to talk' was always bad… What did he want to talk about? Was he regretting the previous night? Her mind shot off into thinking of the worst possible scenario. _Not here, Andy._She thought desperately. "Okay, but, uh, right now, I'm **really** late for this interview." She tried to procrastinate… at least until she was out of the elevator.

"Look, I just wanted to say I was sorry for getting you in trouble with Phoebe. I didn't mean for what happened last night to happen." Andy continued, ignoring her excuse.

Prue narrowed her eyes suspiciously. How did he know she had been yelled at by Phoebe…? Realization dawned and she clenched her hand around her phone. "Phoebe called you, didn't she?" She guessed, her voice rising an octave. "What did she tell you?" Prue demanded, forgetting about the people in the elevator.

Andy was silent a moment, confused by Prue's questions. "Uh, yeah… She said you didn't want to talk to me after last night and I thought that maybe you were having second thoughts." He began slowly. As he spoke, Prue began to grow frustrated as several more men entered the elevator on floor five. They pushed every floor between seven and twelve.

"I'm going to kill her…" Prue muttered, trying to slow her breathing. Several of the men looked over in Prue's direction, but she didn't notice as she was too busy trying to figure out how to fix the situation that Phoebe had worsened.

"So… you're not upset?" Andy pressed in confusion.

"**No, Andy**… I'm not upset that we…" _Elevator, Prue! _She told herself. "… I mean, of course not." She amended, desperately trying to keep her voice down. Prue's face flushed a bright red as she felt the eyes of all the men turn toward her.

Andy nodded slightly to himself and smiled in relief. "Great, so, in that case, can we meet for lunch or dinner or something?" He suggested, sounding much more cheerful than he had been moments before.

Prue hesitated trying hard not to let her temper out on Andy. It wasn't his fault she was in an elevator and had an overprotective older sister. "Okay, Andy, um, I have an interview and though I'd really much rather discuss plans with you than listen to this stupid, unorganized college magazine director I'm gonna have to call you back." She replied hastily, hanging up on him and tossing her phone irritably in her bag. As she looked up she noticed all the men looking at her. They quickly looked away, clearing their throats. She glanced up to see what floor they were on again only to find they were stopping on floor seven. Prue glared at the door that was beginning to open, forcing it to close shut, causing a ruckus within the elevator as a man needed to get off. Ignoring him, she narrowed her eyes on the level twelve light and the elevator skipped every floor between seven and twelve. She smirked to herself as all the men hit on the elevator door as if it would open up. On floor twelve the elevator stopped, opening up as normal.

"That was strange… Lucky you, huh?" The man next to her commented glancing over at her.

Prue walked quickly out of the elevator not able to get out of it quick enough. "Yeah, I'm Charmed alright." She muttered and left without a backward glance.

**Quake**

Phoebe traversed through the crowded restaurant to reach the bar. She handed a bill folder to a young couple.

"Here you go." She spoke, handing it to the man who reached out for it.

"Thank you." He responded gratefully.

Phoebe smiled and turned to leave before doing a double take in disbelief. "Excuse me… but aren't you Stefan?" Phoebe asked, approaching slowly.

Stefan glanced back up at her smiling. "Yes… I'm sorry, but do we know each other?" He questioned, looking at her curiously.

Phoebe leaned casually against the bar, ignoring the woman who was beside Stefan. "Doubtful. I'm just familiar with your work. The depth in your pictures is just… amazing." She complimented. That was one of the good things about having Prue as a sister. She knew a bit about photography.

"Well, I don't know about that, but I'll always take a compliment from a gorgeous woman." Stefan replied, flashing a charming smile that made Phoebe look back toward the woman he was sitting with.

"I'm sure your girlfriend must appreciate that…" Phoebe answered, trying to judge her reaction.

Stefan leaned closer to Phoebe. "She's not my girlfriend." He whispered.

"Then why are you whispering?" Phoebe whispered back flirtatiously.

The woman frowned in anger and jumped up from the bar. "Excuse me." She hissed pushing between Phoebe and Stefan causing Phoebe to step back.

"Oh… oh, okay." Phoebe murmured putting her hands up dramatically in innocence. Stefan turned around to watch her leave and Phoebe stepped back forward. "Well, it was very nice to meet you." She offered beginning to turn away.

"You too…" Stefan agreed and then reached out to stop her from leaving. "Listen. I'm in town for a couple days doing a Porsche shoot. If you're interested, stop by. I'd love to photograph you. You **do** model, don't you?" Stefan took out a pen and wrote his address on a napkin in front of him and gave it to Phoebe.

Phoebe stared in surprise and gingerly reached out to take it. "Once or twice." She replied, leaving out the little detail that she had modeled for her younger sister and not professionally. She then glanced down at the napkin excitedly before turning away. As she was still staring at the napkin Piper ran up and grabbed her hands, effectively gaining her attention.

"A driver has called in sick. Can you do a quick delivery?" Piper pleaded desperately.

"Sure." Phoebe agreed, taking a step back from her sister. "Is that guy at the bar staring at me?" She wondered curiously.

Piper cast a quick glance to the bar behind her. "A lot of guys at the bar are staring at you." Piper agreed hastily.

"The one at the far end. Tall, dark, brooding, very New York." Phoebe described Stefan.

Piper glanced over again for a split moment. "Sorry, no." She replied and dashed off back to work.

Phoebe looked back where Stefan had been to find him gone. Her gaze flickered to the napkin with his address on it and she smiled.

"**4 Us by Us" Magazine Studio**

Prue advanced toward the woman sitting behind the Secretary's desk, trying to let her frustration go before doing the job interview. The young woman looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and looked at Prue expectantly.

"Hey, I'm Prudence Halliwell. I'm here for a job interview." She explained.

The woman smiled and motioned for her to follow. She led Prue toward an office door. "He's seen your recommendations and he's very impressed, especially the ones from your advisors, but I've got to tell you, he's already switched six other applicants that wanted the same position to help in other places." She warned, traversing them around the ladders and workers painting. The magazine studio was going through a make-over now that it had a new boss.

"Did all of them fulfill all the qualifications?" Prue asked, sounding a little nervous. If the answer was yes than Prue didn't have the upper hand like she liked to have. She looked toward the Secretary for an answer.

"Several of them did, but I did hear him say he was looking forward to meeting you. From what I've heard, he likes your quality of work and dedication that your recommendations all bragged about." The Secretary elaborated. "The only situation that pulls you down was the fight last week."

Prue frowned slightly as the conversation was turned toward Roger. "That situation was highly unusual." Prue replied quickly and rather coldly. They had now come to stop outside the door to the office Prue assumed was the boss's.

The secretary laughed softly. "Okay…. Ready?" She asked, reaching out for the door handle.

Prue nodded slightly. "Yeah."

The Secretary opened the door and preceded Prue into the room. "Rex Buckland, this is Prue Halliwell, interviewing as the new photojournalist." She announced.

Prue walked in to find the man next to her in the elevator standing in front of the desk. Her smile turned to a slight frown and she bit her lip slightly, suddenly a lot more nervous as Rex looked her over quickly.

"Actually, we've already met… Welcome to my unorganized college magazine studio." He greeted sarcastically, walking forward to shake hands with her.

Prue cleared her throat softly, trying to appear nonchalant. This day was getting worse by the minute.

**Stefan's Photography Place**

In the middle of a large studio room the previously mentioned woman at Quake with Stefan was bound tightly by the hands and legs to the short table. An old demon walked toward her carrying a black candlestick. He placed it on an empty candle placement that was set up around the table in a ritualistic way.

"Please don't hurt me… Let me go! Please Stefan" The woman begged, the fear evident in her voice. She struggled to break the bonds that held her down but fell back in exhaustion. The demon stepped out of the shadows for the first time causing the woman to cringe away in fright. "Oh my God…" She whispered.

"It's Javna…" The demon corrected in a slow hissing voice as he stepped closer to her. His eyes turned red and bright ray beams shot out of them, hitting the woman in the face.

"Wait!" She screamed as she thrashed around on the table trying to get loose or at least keep her eyes away from the ray beams. The demon ignored her and finally the woman grew old before his eyes while he grew young, into the form of Stefan. He picked up the mirror on an end table beside him and grinned. The woman lay still, seeming disoriented while Stefan's laughter rang through the empty studio

**The Magazine Studio**

Rex invited Prue to make herself comfortable in the chair in front of his desk while he took all the papers, including her photo portfolio, from her and flipped through them.

"On average, how many classes are you enrolled in a semester?" He asked as he walked past her, heading towards his desk.

"Six, including a lab. I try to keep with the 16 credit hours a semester. It should be on my transcript." Prue answered promptly, her eyes following his movements closely.

"And you have 3.9? Impressive GPA." Rex commented, sounding impressed. He dropped the papers on his desk and sat down opposite Prue.

"Yes, well, my sister is helping me pay for everything and I don't want the money and time to go to waste." Prue explained, nodding slightly.

Rex offered a faint smile. "I see, obviously one of the reasons you want this job, yes?" Rex guessed, receiving a nervous nod in reply. He was silent a moment appearing thoughtful before he smiled slyly. "It's a shame though that you don't appear to be interested in the opportunity… That the studio will be 'unorganized.' That it won't matter… I believe that is how you put it in the elevator." Rex reminded her, casually leaning back in his chair for an answer.

Prue bit her lip ever so slightly and looked away for a split moment in aggravation. "That was a private phone conversation." She mumbled, blushing in embarrassment though she tried to hide it.

Rex shook his head, grinning. "Hardly." He retorted.

Prue looked away and reached down to grab her purse before standing up abruptly. "Okay, look, if you're not going to give me the opportunity then why waste my time as well as yours?" Prue snapped with narrowed eyes. There was a pause at which time she was deciding whether to let it go or to continue. "And while we're at it. I think it's incredibly unfair of you to eavesdrop on a private call and then misjudge me based on entirely what you thought you heard." Prue added, deciding on the latter.

Rex looked away while she accused him and when she had finished ranting glanced back at her. "I apologize. It was unfair of me." He offered and then stood up and approached her. "I'm new to all of this." Rex explained waving his hand to show off the room. "I've only just taken over the studio, having just graduated myself a couple of years ago, so I'm very protective of it. But knowing that, your work ethic both in and out of the classroom is exactly what I was looking for. I want people to see what college students can really create with the right mindset." He paused for a moment sitting down on the edge of his desk. Prue glanced away, not having any idea of what to say. "It's just that… when all these qualifications are signed, it's very important to me that whoever I hire, truly wants to be here." Rex continued, carefully watching Prue's reaction. Before she could respond there was a beep announcing the presence of the intercom. "Yeah?" He called, not taking his eyes off Prue.

"Excuse me, Mr. Buckland, but your next interview is waiting. Shall I reschedule him?" The secretary's voice filled the room.

"No, just give me five minutes." He answered, picking up Prue's files and portfolio and handing them to her. Rex moved behind his desk and opened a drawer where he pulled out a business card. "A photographer by the name of Stefan is in the area. He has agreed to work with us in trying to find the right person for the job. Work with him, learn from him, take a few new shots using what he has taught you. You have until midnight tonight."

Prue frowned as she took her papers in one hand and shook his hand formally in the other. A lot to do and not much time to do it… But on the plus side, it was a Saturday. She might just be able to pull it off. "I'll be here." She replied determinedly, her voice cold in return.

He nodded and watched her thoughtfully as Prue left without a backward glance. The determination in her blue eyes was intriguing to say the least.

**Church**

Piper pulled Quake's catering van up to the church and parked just outside. Already several people were coming out of the church to help unload. Phoebe jumped out of the passenger side of the van and walked around to the back.

"Prue called, said you talked to Andy." Piper started as she came up from the other side of the van carrying a clipboard and pen. Piper leaned back casually against the back door with a disapproving look at her older sister.

"Yes, I did. She shouldn't have gone so far on the first date." Phoebe replied defensively as a woman from the church came up. Phoebe reached into the van and pulled out a tray that she handed to the woman.

Piper sighed softly. "Pheebs, I know you're just trying to keep Prue from getting hurt and any other guy I would probably agree with you, but it's the completely wrong way to handle Prue. You're just going to make her mad and she'll do the opposite just because." Piper continued, trailing off and marking that tray off on her clipboard.

Phoebe grinned and turned back to the truck. "Must've been good. She was practically jumping up and down this morning." She contemplated ignoring Piper's warning.

"Don't go there." Piper returned, her eyes narrowing.

There was silence in which Phoebe just grinned trying not to laugh. "Fine, but she has my approval. After talking to him… I just gave him a few ground rules." Phoebe continued nonchalantly. She pulled another tray out of the truck and looked back up toward her younger sister. "So with Andy and her telekinesis, I don't have to worry about her and with my premonitions I'll be able to see if my own nights will be any good or not before they actually…." Phoebe added and trailed off as she noticed an elderly man waiting on the tray. She handed it to him and leaned casually against the van door. "Hi." She greeted waving as the elderly man walked off.

Piper stared at her in disbelief. "What's the matter with you? Are you outta your mind?" She scolded.

Phoebe rolled her eyes and took out another tray. "You really need to relax a little." Phoebe observed, grabbing the last tray out of the van.

Piper checked off the trays on her clipboard, as Phoebe handed the tray to another man. "I just think we need to be extra careful." She remarked nodding to herself.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes in a studying manner. "Yeah, well, there's careful and then there's paranoid." She countered. "Do you want to talk about it?" Phoebe prodded gently, recognizing that something was bothering her younger sister.

Piper frowned and looked away. "Talk about what?" She asked, a hint of distress in her voice.

Phoebe stared at her for a moment but before anything else could be said, Pastor Williams called for their attention.

"Hey, Phoebe. I didn't know you were back in town." Pastor Williams called as he advanced.

"Hey!" Phoebe greeted, as Pastor Williams pulled her into a friendly hug.

"Took a bite out of the big apple did you?" He joked, waving at Piper. Piper stepped back, still frowning as Pastor Williams turned back to Phoebe.

"Oh, I ate the worm." Phoebe went along with the joke and stepped back from him. She looked out toward a street store. "Hey, I'm going to go get some gum. Do you guys want anything?" She asked looking at the group.

"No thanks." Pastor Williams replied while Piper just shook her head. Phoebe shrugged and made her way to the store, leaving Piper and Pastor Williams alone.

Piper looked down at her clipboard, but looked up slightly as she felt his gaze on her. She inwardly debated saying something and finally she sighed and gave in. Pastor Williams stayed silent, waiting on her to speak. "Okay, here's the deal. I've got this friend. Has a little problem. Could be bad. Not quite sure what to tell her." Piper lay out the scenario as casually as she could.

"Do you want to go inside?" He asked politely pointing toward the church.

A flash of panic shot through Piper and she shook her head hastily. "No…." She answered immediately causing Pastor Williams to look at her curiously. "I mean… I've got to get going." Piper explained.

He nodded in understanding. "So what's the problem?" He pressed, listening closely.

Piper hesitated before taking a deep breath. "Well, she sorta thinks she might be a…. a witch" She elaborated, forcing an embarrassed laugh at the end.

"Witches again huh?" Pastor Williams asked, nodding. He turned and walked a few steps away and

Piper followed nervously. "Not a good thing is it?" Piper guessed, looking down at the ground.

"Certainly not a question I get every day." He commented, thinking about his answer. "How well do you remember your Sunday School Lessons? Exodus 22:18. 'Though shall not suffer a witch to live.'" He quoted slowly.

Piper frowned, dreading his answer. "Meaning…" She whispered, already knowing what he was going to say.

"If you go by the old school? Put her to death… she's evil." Pastor Williams replied carefully.

Piper flinched and looked away, despair threatening to overcome her façade. It took all her self control to force a front and say farewell to Pastor Williams. She quickly returned to the shelter of the van.

**The Outside Store**

Phoebe walked up to the booth and grabbed some gum and a magazine off the rack. While she was reading the front page of the magazine she approached the man behind the cash register. "Here you go." She called getting the cashier's attention and handing him the stuff.

He looked at the price tags on the items and mentally calculated the amount. "$3.52" He replied.

As Phoebe was pulling her wallet out of her purse she caught the conversation of an elderly couple on the other side of the little store.

"Should we use the grandchildren's birthdays?" An elderly man asked to his wife. They were both looking at a lottery ticket. The man looked up and caught Phoebe's eye. "Ten million dollar jackpot. Who knows… today may be our lucky day…" He explained pulling his wife into a hug.

Phoebe smiled, but didn't appear hopeful. "Maybe." Phoebe agreed anyway out of sympathy.

"If not… we're gonna lose our house." The elderly man added.

Phoebe looked down at the lottery tickets thoughtfully and picked one up. She closed her eyes and thought of the elderly couple hoping that she might could trigger a premonition to help them. To her surprise, it actually worked.

_On a television she read the numbers for the winning lottery ticket. 4, 16, 19,30,32,40._

"4, 16, 19, 30, 32, and 40… Those are the winning numbers." She whispered triumphantly.

"Yeah, right lady. Do you want this stuff or don't you?" The cashier asked her impatiently.

Phoebe ignored him and looked toward the elderly couple. "4, 16,19,30,32, and 40. Trust me mister, today is your lucky day." Phoebe continued. The old man looked questioningly at his wife, who nodded and he wrote down the numbers. Phoebe glanced from the lottery ticket in her hand to the cashier and back again. "I think I'll buy one of these lottery tickets too." She decided, handing it to him. She left the store and hurried back to the church Piper was waiting beside the van.

"What are you smiling about?" Piper asked her suspiciously as she came up.

"Oh, nothing…" Phoebe lied casually.

Piper shrugged to herself and walked around to the driver's side and jumped into the van while Phoebe pulled the seat belt around her.

~PO3~

As the two Halliwell sisters pulled out of the church parking lot, in the distance there was an old woman with a distinctive tattoo of an angel on her right hand waiting in line for food.

**Darryl and Andy's Patrol Car**

Outside of Quake, Andy and Darryl were staking out the popular restaurant for any sign of the kidnappers of the missing women. Darryl was looking through the pictures of the victims for the hundredth time and stopped on the picture of the latest victim. Britney, showing off the angel tattoo on her hand. He passed it over to Andy who looked over it and sighed in frustration.

"What do you want me to say? Something just doesn't feel right to me about this. I can't help it." Andy voiced again.

Darryl rolled his eyes and stretched as much as he could in the patrol car. "Here we go again…." He muttered, making himself comfortable.

Andy ignored him and continued. "I mean, where are they alright? What's this guy doing with these poor women?" Andy asked aloud.

Darryl smirked and glanced toward his partner. "Thinking an alien abduction are you?" Darryl joked, causing Andy to turn and glare at him.

"I'm serious Morris." He countered, looking back out the window.

Darryl frowned and shook his head. "I know… that's what scares me." He admitted and then smiled again. "Let me guess. Favorite movie growing up… Ghostbusters? Am I right?" Andy didn't respond and Darryl sighed. "Look we have a crazy, Trudeau. Likes the pretty ladies. That's it. The end. If he comes back looking for more, we're gonna grab him, tag him, make the world a safer place. Is that too hard to follow?" Andy just nodded in agreement and Darryl looked out his window.

"Evil Dead II." Andy suddenly replied and Darryl looked back at him in confusion. Andy grinned and explained. "Favorite movie growing up. Just for the record." Darryl smiled and Andy looked back out his window to catch sight of Prue getting out of her car and entering the restaurant.

"The bank across the street. I think we should grab the ATM tapes and see if….." Darryl trailed off as he heard the door of the car open as Andy got out of the car. "Whoa… Whoa. Where are you going?" He asked. Andy pointed silently and Darryl began to shake his head. "No, no, forget it Romeo. Important rule number one, when on a stake out you can't risk blowing your cover."

"Come on Morris, cut me some slack. I **have** to talk to her." He pleaded, glancing back behind him to where Prue had just disappeared. "Please, just five minutes. That's all I need." He added. Darryl rolled his eyes, but pointed at his watch silently saying he was keeping time. Andy grinned and set the timer on his watch for five minutes.

**Quake**

Prue traversed carefully through the crowded restaurant looking for Piper. She was about to head into the kitchen when Piper came running out ordering several workers to different duties.

"Come on Cindy, your salmon's up… Hector, way behind. We need clean plates." Piper frantically called before Prue reached out and grabbed Piper's hands, forcing her to look at her.

"Hey, Piper. Do you know if there's a Stefan here? He's a photographer…" Prue asked, causing Piper to give her a confused look.

"No, why?" Piper replied, looking around at the restaurant in frustration.

Prue glanced around them though she had no idea who she was looking for. "I blew my job interview so if I want this job I need this guy to help me. They specifically told me to go to this Stefan guy." Prue explained with a shrug. "I called the number on his business card and he said he'd be here." She added, following Piper as she walked toward the cash register.

"I can't imagine your interview was less than stellar." Piper muttered sending Prue a semi-annoyed look. Piper was suddenly pulled to a stop as Prue halted, staring at Phoebe with narrowed eyes.

"I thought Phoebe was supposed to be helping you. You know, to help with funds and stuff." Prue pointed out, glaring at her elder sister.

"Yes, well, she's taking a break, I guess." Piper answered shortly. Her brown eyes flickered over their older sister curiously. "A really long break… wearing Armani."

Prue's mouth dropped in surprise. "We own Armani?" She demanded sounding excited at the thought.

Piper shook her head. "Nope. I've no idea where she got it… Gotta go." Piper answered, pulling away from Prue and heading back into the kitchen. Prue watched her leave and approached her older sister.

Phoebe smiled and waved as she caught sight of Prue. "Prue, hi." Phoebe greeted before turning to Stefan. "This is my youngest sister… Prue, this is Stefan the photographer." She introduced.

Prue smiled and shook hands. "Hey, actually, we were supposed to be meeting. I'm, uh, Prue Halliwell. We talked on the phone, remember?" Prue pressed, glancing toward Phoebe a little anxiously.

"Of course, I'm supposed to help you with photojournalism, I believe. Rex has high standards." Stefan commented politely.

Prue nodded, fiddling nervously with her camera as Phoebe's smile slowly faded. Prue quickly caught on. "Uh, when's a good time?" She asked hastily.

Phoebe stood up suddenly, cutting off any continued conversation between Stefan and Prue. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" She asked pleasantly and got up from her chair. She irritably grabbed Prue's hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. Prue flashed one last polite smile at Stefan before allowing herself to be pulled away.

Stefan watched them leave and he looked down at his hand under the table. It was wrinkly and much too brittle to be the hand of his apparent youth.

Meanwhile, Phoebe pushed into the kitchen followed by a reluctant Prue. "What do you think you are doing?" Phoebe snapped, spinning around to face Prue with flashing eyes.

"Uh, trying to get a job that will help further my career." Prue answered truthfully with a shrug to Phoebe's attitude.

"No, what you are doing is ruining my date! Back off." Phoebe ordered, crossing her arms in anger.

Prue stared at Phoebe in disbelief. "You can't be serious. You went and called my boyfriend behind my back and told him I was mad at him. You're not one to be talking, Phoebe." Prue argued, her voice rising defensively.

Piper ran up at that moment and stopped next to them. "What are you guys doing in here?" She hissed nervously, casting glances over her shoulder.

"The same thing we do at home." Phoebe replied without turning to look at Piper. "You had that one coming, Prue. You stayed out all night with a guy that you met last week! How did you think I would react? Most guys would just leave you without a second thought. You're making it way too easy for them." She countered.

"This coming from the girl labeled 'Freebie' in high school and to this day, stays out at least until three in the morning with guys she met that night." Prue returned sharply and with a roll of her eyes. "I **grew up** with Andy. I can take care of myself; I don't need you to do it for me."

"Phoebe… Prue…" Piper began again, acutely aware of the eyes that were turning toward them.

Prue interrupted before Piper could start. "And I don't **care** about your date and I was even going to let go the fact that you called Andy, but **I** am trying to get a job, unlike somebody. I'm sorry your dating the guy that I need to help me, but quite honestly, I feel the job is more important… which obviously you don't since I was also under the impression that you were supposed to be helping Piper and not **flirting** with guys and splurging our money on Armani." Prue continued, trailing off and breathing heavily after her long rant.

"For your information, Prue, I have three job interviews lined up this week to get the money situation under control, and you don't even know where I got the Armani dress. Believe it or not, but at least I'm putting forth some effort for others." Phoebe snapped and Prue appeared taken aback.

"What does that mean?" Prue asked suspiciously.

Piper's eyes narrowed in understanding as she read it in Phoebe's eyes. "No… you didn't use your powers again?" Piper pleaded, already knowing the answer. "What did you do?"

"I used a premonition of the lottery to help a needy family." Phoebe admitted, her eyes narrowed in defiance.

"Phoebe…" Piper sighed dramatically. On one hand she was glad and even impressed that Phoebe used her power for someone who needed help, but she couldn't get the image of Jeremy attacking her or throwing the athame at Prue out of her head.

Phoebe turned slowly away from Prue to meet Piper. "That's what we're supposed to do." Phoebe explained coldly.

"That doesn't explain the Armani. We're not supposed to use our powers for our own personal gain. That's what it says in the Book of Shadows." Prue countered, folding her arms in disapproval.

"Not so loud." Piper whispered, lightly elbowing Prue in the ribs.

"Prue, you never give anyone time to explain anything. If you're not going to listen then just shut up!" Phoebe returned harshly.

"Continue this conversation elsewhere." Piper ordered only to be ignored again.

Prue nodded but her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Yes, I wonder who I learned that from."

"Right, because everything's always my fault definitely not perfect Prue's!" Phoebe retorted.

At that moment the door to the kitchen once again opened as Andy pushed through looking for Prue. "Prue?" He called, his eyes focusing on her. Prue froze, looking around in confusion while Phoebe and Piper watched him approach. As he walked toward Prue he bumped into a worker carrying plates, causing him to fall and drop the plates.

"Watch it!" Piper shouted throwing her hands out. The plates froze just before hitting the ground as did everything else in the room. All three sisters were left staring wide-eyed at the situation. "Oh no, not again…" Piper muttered beginning to pace frantically

"Good job, Phoebe." Prue hissed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, so this is **my** fault too." Phoebe returned in disbelief.

Piper looked up at them in surprise. "You guys aren't frozen?" She asked in confusion.

"I guess it doesn't work on witches." Phoebe suggested with a shrug. "Piper, how long does it last?" Phoebe demanded turning to watch as Prue ran to the kitchen door.

"I don't know… not long." Piper answered, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself.

Prue opened the door to the kitchen and looked out to see everyone moving as normal. "Uh, doesn't work out here either." She added, quickly closing the kitchen door again.

Piper's eyes widened in fear and Phoebe looked around biting her lip uncertainly. "Oh! Tell me this isn't happening." Piper pleaded, leaning up against a counter in panic.

Outside the kitchen Darryl, walked in looking for Andy. He put his hands in his pockets revealing his police mark. Stefan noticed from where he sat and quickly got up and left.

"Calm down, it's okay, okay, it's all going to be okay." Phoebe was offering as assurance over and over to Piper trying to calm her down.

Prue looked out the kitchen door again to see a waitress pointing Darryl to the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she quickly backed back in. "Oh God, Andy's partner just came in and he's heading this way…" Prue added, her eyes widening.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, her voice a higher pitch from panic.

"Prue, stall him!" Phoebe hissed, running to get a menu to fan Piper with.

Prue ran out of the kitchen and intercepted Darryl. "Hey! Inspector Morris right?" Prue asked blocking him from entering the kitchen.

"That's right… Is Trudeau in there?" Morris inquired, pointing behind her.

"Uhhh… Andy? I don't know… is he?" Prue feigned ignorance trying to hold him back, but Morris just walked around her.

"Okay, breathe, Piper, breathe." Phoebe pleaded, frantically fanning Piper with a menu.

Darryl tried to push into the kitchen, but Prue desperately grabbed his arm. "Wait!" She called desperately, pulling him back as best she could.

He turned to glance back at Prue curiously just as everything in the kitchen unfroze. The plates hit the ground with a loud crash, causing Piper to jump and the kitchen returned to its normal bustle.

Andy looked around in confusion for Prue, not seeing her where he thought she had been. "I think we should… talk…" He trailed off, finally seeing her come up behind Darryl, looking flustered. "What are you doing here? I thought I had five minutes…" Andy asked pointing at Darryl.

Darryl smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I gave you ten." He explained, pointing at his watch. Andy glanced in confusion down at his and they compared watches.

Prue bit her lip and gave Piper and Phoebe a pleading glance. "You know… guys, we're really busy in here." Piper snapped in annoyance to the two cops.

Andy and Darryl both looked up over at her. "Yeah, sorry, Piper." Andy agreed turning to leave.

"I'll call you later, I promise." Prue added grabbing Darryl's arm and hurrying them toward the door. Andy nodded to Prue and waved to the other sisters.

"Bye." Phoebe called, trying to de-stress while Piper closed her eyes taking huge gulps of air.

"I **hate** being a witch." Piper hissed, turning away from her two sisters. Prue watched her in surprise and Phoebe flinched at the declaration.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper irritably threw open the door to the attic and collapsed into a chair, a few tears escaping from her eyes as she thought of what Pastor Williams had said. _I sure wouldn't want to risk it….Exodus 22:18…. Put her to death. She's evil… evil… Did it still make her evil if she didn't ask for it?_ She looked up and saw the Book of Shadows resting on the pedestal where they usually left it. She silently stood up and grabbed it before sitting back down in the chair. Piper absent-mindedly flipped through the pages. She didn't know exactly why. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, but it was something to do. She didn't look up, even after hearing a soft knock on the door to the attic.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Phoebe asked gently, coming in to sit in a chair across from Piper.

"Reading… Thinking…" Piper whispered, focusing on the book. She didn't want to look up at Phoebe. She didn't know if she could hold herself together if she did. Piper had gotten fairly used to be the oldest sister in the house after Phoebe had left. She was grateful that Phoebe had come back, being the oldest sister was not an envious job, but she wasn't sure she could explain her feelings anymore.

"About what?" Phoebe prodded, her eyes never straying from her little sister.

Piper shrugged. "About how totally screwed we are now that we're witches." She answered shortly, carefully closing the book and sitting it down in her lap.

"Oh, that." Phoebe realized, making herself comfortable in the chair. She smiled faintly, gently prodding Piper to go on.

"I don't know… it's just, all our lives, we've been like everyone else. Rushing off to work, going out on bad dates, buying shoes… And suddenly, everything is different. We're witches now… I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing." She finally admitted. Phoebe didn't immediately respond as Piper wasn't quite through explaining. "The documentary, it said witches were evil… Pastor Williams quoted Exodus 22:18…. It said the same thing. I know the book says that we're 'good' witches. I know you don't doubt it, but how do we know? What about Jeremy? What about all the warlocks he said would be coming after us? How do we know we're not just like them…?" Piper asked, looking up at Phoebe with pleading eyes.

Phoebe looked down at the ground for a moment in thought. "Is that why you're so afraid for Prue? Why you don't want her to use her powers?" She wondered softly.

"I don't know. I guess that's partially why. I don't want her to take the power to her head, but I don't think she would actually… She's actually pretty mature for a nineteen year old." Piper started with a shrug. "I just don't want her to get hurt. Not like Jeremy hurt me and I think she's the one most likely out of us to fall for it. Easiest to take advantage of so I thought that maybe if she just didn't use the powers than they wouldn't find her."

"And why you didn't mind so much that she was out with Andy all night." Phoebe guessed with a smirk.

Piper laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." She agreed and then her smile faded as the doubts set back in.

"Piper, listen to me." Phoebe called, pulling her sister's attention back to her. "You are the sweetest most caring person I have ever met." Piper smiled but looked unconvinced. "No I mean that, you are. You're always there to help anybody, even strangers. You've been doing it your whole life. So there's no way you've been given this, this gift, if it wasn't to do good things with it. To protect the innocent, just like the Book of Shadows says."

Piper nodded, finding that she couldn't argue with her what her eldest sister said. "So, where's Prue? Did you two make up?" Piper asked curiously.

Phoebe sighed and looked away. "Not exactly. She called Stefan and he told her to meet him at his photography place. I'm going to go by later to get my picture taken." She answered and then shrugged innocently. "I'll apologize, I promise, but right now, I believe I have a shift to cover at Quake. I'll see you later."

"Good luck with the dinner shift." Piper laughed, waving as her eldest sister disappeared down the steps.

**Stefan's Photography Place**

Prue put her car in park and stepped out, fitting her camera around her neck in one hand while talking to Andy on the phone in the other. "No, I'm probably not going to be done until close to ten. I have to take some photographs with this guy, develop them, and then turn them in." Prue was trying to explain. "Do you work the night shift tonight?"

Andy was sprawled across the couch in his living room with his house phone against his shoulder as he flipped through his mail. "Yeah, I go back in at nine. I'm on break." He sighed, tossing his mail to the side.

"Can we make it tomorrow then?" Prue suggested, kicking the car door shut behind her and approaching the building. She vaguely thought that Stefan's studio looked a little creepy, but was sidetracked by her continued conversation with her boyfriend.

"Sure, I have a class tomorrow at five, but it ends around 6:30. So, seven?" Andy offered hopefully.

Prue quickly racked her brain for any planned events. "Perfect." She answered cheerfully, upon her mental search coming up negative.

Andy's smile widened. "Great. I'll pick you up." Andy decided. "So who are you meeting? And why? I mean, shouldn't it have been obvious whether they wanted to hire you or not? Why a test?" He wondered curiously.

"Uh, well, I kinda blew my interview so for them to even consider me I have to do this." Prue explained, knocking loudly on the door to gain Stefan's attention. "Have you heard of Stefan? He's a photographer that originated in New York…"

Andy shrugged despite Prue being unable to see him. "The name sounds familiar."

"Oh, well, him. He's in San Francisco for a few days, and I guess he knows Mr. Buckland since I was sent here." Prue replied, staring uncertainly at the large door. No one was answering. "Of course, I would sit this through if he would open the door." Prue added as an afterthought.

"Are you sure this is the right time?" Andy asked mildly.

Prue rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course." She snapped, knocking louder on the door.

Andy was silent as he listened to Prue mutter curses under her breath as still no one answered. After a moment he finally spoke again. "He might not be there yet."

"Really, Andy? I never would have guessed." Prue returned, the sarcasm evident in her voice. "Sorry." She apologized, turning away from the door and heading back to her car. She shrugged off the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her as she looked around at the darkening shadows. Prue looked up at the sky and noted the quickly setting sun. She tuned out Andy for the moment as she tried to open her car door. For several moments she struggled with it before it suddenly swung open. "Damn." She cursed, as it wrenched her already injured wrist from her fight with Roger.

"Prue? What happened? Are you okay?" Andy demanded upon hearing the pain in her voice.

Prue pulled her throbbing arm tight against her chest. "Yeah. Car door hit my wrist." She mumbled, her voice strained.

Andy frowned and looked at his clock. 8:25. "I'll come pick you up. You shouldn't drive if it's hurt again." He pointed out, already grabbing his keys. "What's the address?"

Prue opened her mouth to protest needing help, but instead a muffled scream came out as someone grabbed her from behind, placing a hand over her mouth. Her phone dropped to the ground and she tried to struggle from the grip around her. She slammed them against her car, but they held onto her wrist tightly, causing Prue to drop to the ground in pain. Prue could hear Andy's voice through her phone calling her name. She chanced a look up at her attacker and gasped softly… Stefan.

Stefan smiled triumphantly and pushed her all the way to the ground where he quickly tied her hands before she had time to react. He then reached around her and picked up her phone before clicking the 'end call' button. Stefan turned back to face his captive and approached Prue, only to be thrown back as she sent a blast of telekinesis at him.

Prue desperately struggled to her feet and tried to run, but Stefan quickly over took her clumsy effort at escape. Careful to keep her back against him so that she couldn't see him, Stefan half-carried and half-dragged her inside his studio.

**Church**

Outside the church Piper sat in her car, glancing every so often to the main entrance to the church. "I have nothing to be afraid of. I have nothing to be afraid. Nothing, nothing, nothing to be afraid of." She murmured to herself as she unbuckled her seat belt and pushed the door of the car open. She cautiously walked toward the door and wrapped her hand around the handle. She hesitated as if expecting to hear a clap of thunder, but all was silent. Piper closed her eyes tightly and pulled the large door open, almost losing her balance as it swung open easier than she had expected it would. Nothing happened and she looked toward the sky as she took several small steps toward the open entrance. She stepped one foot inside the door, testing its safety and jumped back as if she expected to be shocked. Again nothing happened so she took a step past the threshold, entering the church completely. Immediately she grinned and walked back out. "I'm good!" Piper shouted to the sky, throwing her hands up excitedly. She laughed at herself and started to walk back toward her car, a new skip in her step. As she reached the side walk an old woman approached her and Piper took her hand staring in disbelief. She had the tattoo of an angel… the same she had seen on Britney the night before. "Britney?" She whispered, watching the old woman closely.

"Do you know me? Is that my name?" Asked the old woman, appearing relieved.

Piper didn't immediately answer as she thought about the possibilities.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Phoebe carefully walked up the stairs with one hand outstretched to open the door and the other holding the phone to her ear. She had obviously tuned out the person on the other end of the phone as she worked on opening the door. Once she was inside she returned her attention to the phone conversation. "Sorry, Andy. I wasn't listening… What were you saying about Prue?" Phoebe wondered, slipping out of her jacket and hanging it up next to the door.

Andy was sitting in his car, looking rather frustrated at Phoebe's inattentiveness. "Phoebe, something happened to Prue. What was the address to that photographer's place?" He demanded irritably. Andy was speeding down the road to get to the station to manually look up the address if he didn't get it from Phoebe. He'd tried calling Darryl, but his partner hadn't answered.

"Damn it, Prue." Phoebe cursed and Andy thought she was frustrated at how Prue always seemed to get herself into trouble, while in reality Phoebe had just tripped over Prue's schoolbag that was next to the door. Again Phoebe hadn't heard what Andy had said. Instead of answering, she reached down to pick up the bag and move it out of the way when she was pulled into a premonition.

_Prue struggling against Stefan's grip as he dragged her into his studio. _

Phoebe's hand tightened on her phone before she suddenly remember Andy. "Andy, I'm gonna have to call you back." She replied.

"No, Phoebe, don't…" Andy heard Phoebe hang up and he was seriously tempted to throw his cell out the window of his car. "… hang up." He mumbled, resisting the urge and instead tossing it into the passenger seat and focusing on getting to the station as quick as possible.

"Piper!" Phoebe yelled loudly as she ran through the rooms, pulling open every door she saw (even the closets) in an attempt to find the middle sister. She spun around as she heard "What?" behind her, but instead of finding Piper, the old woman Piper had met at the church was there. Phoebe stared at her for several moments trying to decide why there was an old woman in their house. Her thoughts were interrupted by hearing steps coming from the kitchen.

"Phoebe, thank god, you're home!" Piper exclaimed, rushing toward her with a bowl of soup in her hands. Before Phoebe could say anything, Piper had turned to the old lady and passed her the bowl. "Here you go, Britney. Why don't you go sit at the table, okay?" She suggested, pointing Britney in the direction of the dining room.

Phoebe didn't really wait for an explanation on who 'Britney' was and instead took off in the direction of the kitchen. "Piper, where did I put Stefan's address?" She demanded, not slowing in the slightest.

Piper shrugged, glaring at Phoebe as she squeezed past the ambling Britney. Very rude. "Why?" Piper asked shortly.

"He's kidnapped Prue and I have to go kick his ass." Phoebe answered, nearly turning over the entire kitchen searching for the napkin from Quake that Stefan had written his address down on for Phoebe.

Piper didn't immediately respond as her mouth dropped and she paled visibly. "What?" She questioned, her voice strained.

"I had a premonition of Stefan kidnapping Prue and Andy was on the phone trying to tell me that something had happened to her. I think he'd been on the phone with her or something." Phoebe explained hastily. "Ah ha! She announced, pulling the napkin off the refrigerator. "We have to go now." Phoebe decided.

Without the two sisters noticing, Britney had slowly come into the kitchen behind them. Her eyes focused on the address written on the napkin that she could just see from where she was. "Javna…" She whispered with terror filled eyes.

Phoebe appeared confused but Piper's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my God!" Piper screamed, spinning around and dashing up the stairs.

"Piper? We have to go get Prue. What the hell are you doing?" Phoebe called after her, but with getting no response from her younger sister she dashed up the stairs also. "Piper?" Phoebe repeated as she found Piper in the attic, flipping frantically through the pages of the book.

"Stefan is Javna." Piper mumbled, breathing heavily from her run up the stairs. "Britney is Britney Reynolds… angel tattoo on hand… eternal youth… Hand of Fatima."

Phoebe really had no idea what Piper was mumbling about, but without another word Piper had scribbled something down and bolted down the steps, pulling Phoebe after her. "What are we doing?"

"We're gonna save Prue and read a spell to banish Stefan back to wherever the Hell he came from." Piper answered, grabbing her keys and coat next to the door.

Phoebe just nodded and grabbed her coat. "Right." She allowed, shutting the door behind her.

**San Francisco Police Department**

"Trudeau, perfect timing." Darryl commented as he stood up from behind his desk. He pointed toward the T.V. that was in front of him. "Video cameras from the ATM machine. The last victim was caught leaving with the photographer Stefan." Darryl explained.

Andy stopped suddenly and stared at the man on the T.V. "Do we have an address?" He demanded.

Darryl appeared a little taken aback by Andy's attitude. "Printing as of now." He answered, clicking something on his computer and the printer could be heard starting up.

Andy nodded and grabbed the paper as soon as the printer had let it go. "Let's go."

"Hold on, Trudeau. We have to wait on the warrant." Darryl reminded him with narrowed eyes.

"No, damn it. We have to go now! My girlfriend went there." Andy snapped, his hands clenching at his sides.

Darryl frowned but without another word grabbed his stuff together and motioned for Andy to lead the way out.

**Stefan's Photography Studio**

Prue vainly struggled to release her hands from the bonds that tied her to the table where all the previous victims of Javna had been. It probably wasn't one of her smarter ideas to try and jerk her hands out since her wrist was already hurt… broken now most likely but she did it anyway. She caught sight of movement to her left and she glared dangerously in that direction, trying to activate her power against him. "Let me go, Stefan." Prue hissed for no other reason than to be defiant.

"It's Javna." He corrected, stepping out of the shadows so that she could see him. No longer was he the handsome photographer, but quite an ugly demon. His eyes started to glow red and a beam of light shot toward her. Before it could hit her in the face, she narrowed her eyes and sent Javna back several steps. The beam hit her, but didn't seem to do anything by itself.

Prue turned her gaze to the ropes that bound her wrist and used her power to untie the knots before manually trying to untie her ankles. However, Javna had already recovered and was quickly advancing. His eyes glowed and Prue screamed as the beam of red light hit her in the face and paralyzed her.

~PO3~

Piper and Phoebe pulled up next to Prue's car and practically jumped out as soon as Piper put the car in park. "Do you know where he has her?" Piper asked, spinning in circles trying to see any sign of Prue.

"He was dragging her inside." Phoebe answered, already heading for the door. She hesitated when Piper grabbed her arm.

"Maybe we should call the police." Piper suggested nervously but Phoebe was already shaking her head before Piper had even finished.

"I'm sure Andy is on his way by now. We need to end this before they get here. Besides, we're the only ones that can stop Javna." Phoebe argued.

Piper still didn't appear convinced. "But we need Prue to do it. The incantation only works with the three of us." She countered, trailing off as she heard Prue's scream from inside the building. Without another word, Piper had passed Phoebe and was first inside the building with Phoebe right behind her.

~PO3~

Piper and Phoebe couldn't have made more noise coming in the building had they wanted to. They froze as they saw the red beams hitting their youngest sister, both quickly looked livid at the scene.

"Hey, get away from my sister!" Phoebe yelled, marching up toward Javna.

Javna was distracted by the two newest arrivals and the beams stopped as he turned his attention to Phoebe and Piper, most particularly Phoebe who was closing the distance between them quickly.

Piper dashed toward Prue and finished undoing the ties that still restrained Prue. She pulled her little sister to her feet and they turned to find Phoebe frozen by the red beams that hit her in the face. Prue squinted and Javna fell to the ground and released Phoebe. He started to stand up but Phoebe was ready this time and punched him hard in the face as he began to recover, effectively knocking him back down again. Piper pulled Prue over to Phoebe and pulled out the paper that had the incantation on it.

"Okay, let's do this." Phoebe ordered, starting off the spell with Prue and Piper following.

"_Evil eyes look unto thee_

_Maybe they soon extinguished be_

_Bend thy will to the Power of Three_

_Eye of Earth_

_Evil and Accursed"_

Javna tried to sit back up and reach out toward them. "Can't stop me. I will live forever!"

Phoebe held her hand out and it began to glow a bright white light that hit Javna in the chest and forced him back. They chanted one last time and Javna fell back and disintegrated in front of them. All three sisters stared in stunned silence for several moments as the light disappeared from Phoebe's hand. "Very cool." Phoebe decided, looking down at her hand with a half-smile.

The resulting silence was broken by Prue bolting forward. "My camera!" She screeched, picking up the black device that was on the floor. Prue immediately began fiddling with it in an attempt to try and make it work again.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Senile Britney was asleep on the couch when she suddenly de-aged. She woke up and looked confused about why she was in the Manor and what she was wearing, but otherwise, was back to normal.

**Stefan's Photography Studio**

Piper had to practically pull an upset Prue out of the studio. She was nervously laughing because only Prue would be more concerned about her camera than the fact her wrist was broken and she'd been attacked by a youth-stealing demon. Phoebe was next to them, her gaze fixed on the entrance where she could see the flashing lights of officers. From the increasing rise of the sirens, they were approaching quickly. There was no getting away at this point and so the sisters huddled together. Prue had now quit fiddling with the camera and was apparently just beginning to notice the throbbing in her wrist. The cops stopped and several officers stepped out. Andy was, of course, the first one out and he headed for Prue immediately while the others surrounded the building.

"Prue?" Andy called, pushing past Piper and Phoebe to pull the youngest Halliwell into a relieved bear hug. "What happened? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He demanded, ignoring the amused looks that Phoebe and Piper were sending him.

"Oh, she's real traumatized, Andy." Phoebe replied, forcing her tone of voice to sound serious. She almost smiled at the horrified look on Andy's face. "He broke her camera." She continued as if that explained everything.

Prue sent Phoebe a good-natured glare at the tease before actually answering her now-really-confused boyfriend. "I'm fine Andy really." Prue promised.

Andy studied her for several moments, not completely convinced. Especially since Prue was obviously favoring her wrist, but he let it drop for now. "What are you two doing here?" Andy questioned curiously, glancing toward Phoebe and Piper.

"Well, after you called, we decided to come and get Prue away from creeper guy." Phoebe shrugged nonchalantly.

"Do you guys have any idea how lucky you are? This guy is the stalker. You should have waited for the police." Andy scolded.

Piper glanced around worriedly. "We'll take you up on that next time." Piper assured him just before Darryl came up behind Andy and got his attention. Andy reluctantly pulled away from Prue and gave Darryl a nod of acknowledgement.

"There's no sign of him inside, but his car's still here so he might still be around." Darryl filled him in professionally before glancing over the three sisters, his gaze lingering on Prue for a moment longer out of curiosity. "Stay with them." He ordered and walked off to continue giving some orders to other officers.

"Andy, when can we leave? We need to take Prue to the hospital and get her wrist looked at." Phoebe explained.

Prue frowned at the word 'hospital' and looked a little disgusted… She hated hospitals and she'd already been there once in the past two weeks. "Do we **have** to go to the hospital? I'm sure it's fine." She pleaded unconvincingly.

Andy smiled faintly at her characteristic aversion to hospitals. "It's okay to leave now." He allowed.

Phoebe nodded and headed for the car with Piper right behind. "Hurry up, Prue." Phoebe added over her shoulder.

"Call me?" Prue asked hopefully, turning bright blue eyes to Andy's.

"Tomorrow." Andy promised with the slightest of nods. "You call me after you see the doctors. Let me know." She nodded a little reluctantly, still not thrilled about having to go to the hospital. Andy smiled, gave her a quick kiss and released her to her sisters. He watched her leave before going to find Darryl.

Prue turned at the last minute to see Andy heading back to the group of officers. She smiled, pulled her camera up, and clicked the button. She smiled wider when it flashed. "It still works!" Prue squealed happily as she skipped the rest of the way to the car and squeezed in the car with Phoebe and Piper.

**The Magazine Studio**

Prue bolted from the car and raced through the entrance of the studio. It was much less crowded at this time (11:45) and didn't take long for the elevator to let her out on the twelfth floor. She'd pushed the doctors to diagnose her wrist super quickly so she'd have time to develop her picture and make it back to the studio. Prue was hoping that either Mr. Buckland wouldn't notice that she hadn't actually taken pictures with Stefan or learned anything from him or that he just wouldn't care once he saw her picture. She was quite proud of it and she figured it was better than not trying at all.

Rex scrutinized her closely when Prue stepped in, her face slightly flushed from the run. He stood up and politely shook hands with her. "Let's see what you have then." He reached out and took the photo from her.

She let it go and stepped back nervously as Rex turned his scrutinizing gaze on it. He recognized it as being outside Stefan's studio though Prue probably hadn't counted on that. The police were grouped together and the multi-colored lights of San Francisco could be seen in the background. He had to admit that it looked as if it had been taken from a movie. Of course he wasn't particularly interested in the picture; he was going to hire her anyways. No, he was more interested in the story that the picture was telling. He nodded and motioned for Prue to follow him. "How did you like working with Stefan?" He asked, keeping up pretenses.

Prue smiled slightly and searched for words. "It was an interesting experience." She allowed cryptically.

Rex regarded her with continued interest as he led her through the building. "Watch your step." He offered, motioning toward the ladders and paints that took up a lot of this room. Rex stopped outside another office and knocked before entering. "Prue Halliwell, this is Hannah Webster. She'll be giving you the assignments that are wanted for each month's magazine." Rex explained, pointing toward the red-haired woman.

"Wait, what?" Prue questioned in confusion. She blushed slightly as two pairs of eyes flickered back to her.

"You're hired as the magazine's photojournalist." Rex answered simply.

Prue's face broke into a wide smile. "Are you serious?"

"Can you start Monday?" Rex countered.

"Uh, yeah. Of course." Prue agreed immediately.

Rex nodded. "Terrific. As I said, you'll report to Hannah. She'll give you whatever needs to be done at the beginning of each month and you have three weeks to turn them all in at your leisure. Understand?"

Prue nodded enthusiastically and took the moment to shake hands with Hannah. "We can work out your schedule and other details Monday. See you Monday." Hannah dismissed rather shortly and she appeared none-too-pleased at having to shake hands with Prue.

Prue was undeterred by the animosity, too excited about getting the job to worry about that stuff. "Thanks, bye." Prue replied, leaving them in the office. As soon as she'd made it out of their sight, she practically skipped the rest of the way out the door.

Hannah and Rex watched her leave and were silent for several moments before Rex spoke. "What do you think?" He wondered curiously.

"Either she's the luckiest woman alive to escape Javna or she's a witch." Hannah answered thoughtfully.

Rex nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly. Keep an eye on her."

**Quake**

The next morning, the three Halliwell sisters took the time out of their schedules to meet at Quake. Phoebe was the last to arrive and made her way to sit down next to Piper at the bar, looking extremely pleased with herself. She hesitated as she recognized one of the women at the bar as one of Stefan's victims. "Hi, how are you?" Phoebe asked, sounding very concerned. The woman gave her a curious glance and shrugged before looking away. Realizing the woman didn't remember her, Phoebe continued on her way and slipped into the seat next to Piper.

"Do you know that girl?" Piper asked curiously, glancing around Phoebe to get a better look at the woman.

"She was one of Stefan's victims. Obviously doesn't remember anything." Phoebe answered softly.

Prue narrowed her eyes at the conversation. "Can we refrain from talking about him? I'm trying to block that from my memory." She mumbled dropping her head into her hands.

Phoebe smiled faintly and exchanged a look of amusement with Piper. "I've decided we're going to have to be more careful about who we meet… and who we let Prue meet."

Piper nodded in silent agreement and Prue finally lifted her head with a loud sigh. "So Pheebs, what were you smiling about?" Piper wondered eagerly.

"I won the lottery." Phoebe answered with a grin. Piper frowned while Prue tilted her head to the side, prompting an elaboration. "The old couple did not lose their house and don't worry, I'd given the lottery ticket to the Salvation Army. I thought they might be able to find some use for the money." Phoebe suddenly grinned all the more. "You should have seen their face when I gave it to them… I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Wish I could see them now that they've won." She continued a little wistfully.

Piper smiled and nodded approvingly while Prue slid out of her seat to move over beside Phoebe. "So… I'm sorry I yelled at you about the Armani dress." Prue mumbled, glancing a little nervously in Piper's direction. No doubt Piper had prompted Prue into the apology but that didn't mean she wasn't sincere.

Phoebe shrugged it off. "One of my boyfriends from New York bought it for me and I refused to give it back when we broke up. It's no big deal." She answered the silent question that she knew they really wanted to know. "Actually, I was thinking that you should wear it on one of your dates with Andy." She added thoughtfully.

Prue grinned at the offer, recognizing it as a Phoebe apology. Piper appeared satisfied and reached for her drink. "A toast to the Power of Three, whether we like it or not." She toasted. Prue and Phoebe both reached out for their drinks and the resounding clank brought wide smiles to each of the sisters.


	3. Dream Sorcerer

_AN: Thank you guys so much for the reviews. I love them, especially since I don't update this one very much. _

_I don't really like episode 3 or 4 very much so I skipped them because this is purely for my own enjoyment when working on other stuff and I didn't want to do episodes I don't care for. I started this one awhile ago and got eh, 3/4 through before I realized Prue was going to be put in the hospital again... At that point it was too late for me to really change it so, sorry, it was an accident. The next episode that I'll probably do is The Fourth Sister and PAIGE will make an appearance. It'll be more Phoebe-centric, I promise and will back off Prue a little._

_If you have preferences for episodes pm me otherwise they might not be done but who knows I might eventually go back and fill in the episodes I missed. Oh and in Dead Man Dating, Phoebe worked a day as the advise columnist and she sent in a job application. That'll come up so don't be super confused later._

_**Disclaimer: I realized I forgot the disclaimer on the first chapter but I do NOT own Charmed. Not one little bit. I don't own any of it for any of my chapters.**  
><em>

**Dream Sorcerer**

**Quake**

Phoebe pushed through the crowd of the popular restaurant glancing around for her sisters she was meeting. Every now and then she would wave politely to someone while holding her jacket behind her with the other hand. She finally caught sight of her two other sisters seated at a table and she cut a beeline straight for them. However, before getting very far she was intercepted by a couple of young guys.

"Are your parents terrorists? 'Cos baby, you're the bomb." One of the guys expressed the cheesy pickup line. Phoebe smirked and had to work hard to keep from laughing. Surely this guy didn't actually believe he would be able to pick up any chicks with that line. Before she could say anything the other man approached.

"Jim, Jim. Ask her if it hurt when she fell?" He ordered, checking Phoebe out.

Phoebe rolled her eyes hearing another cheesy pickup line coming on. "Uh, excuse me?" She asked him politely, leaning forward to hear him better over all the noise in the restaurant.

"When you fell from Heaven. Did it hurt? 'Cos I know an angel when I see one." He clarified, not disappointing Phoebe with the pickup line.

She didn't need the power of premonition to see that one coming. Phoebe smiled and laughed softly before motioning for him to lean forward. "I'm no angel. I'm a witch, but don't tell my sisters I told you." Phoebe whispered seductively in his ear before patting him on the chest and walking around to finally join her sisters. "Oh, I'm so glad you guys are still here." She greeted, throwing her jacket over the back of the empty chair. Her eyes flickered over her sisters who didn't appear to be paying her any attention. "What are you staring at?" She asked with no response forthcoming.

"They have been going at it for over an hour." Prue replied, pointing behind Phoebe to a couple who didn't seem capable of keeping their hands off of each other or their lips apart.

Phoebe glanced from Prue's disgusted expression, behind her as the couple leaned in for another long kiss. "Hello!" Phoebe called and then sighed and looked away. "God, it's like watching Prue and Andy at our house." She lamented with a pouting expression.

"I know, I hate being single." Piper agreed, playing with the straw in her drink.

Prue glared at her sisters in offense. "We are not that bad!" She exclaimed, seeming horrified at the thought. "… Are we?" Prue inquired suddenly having second thoughts.

Phoebe exchanged an amused glance with Piper at Prue's expense. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We'd kick him out of the house if you two were going at it like that." She assured her younger sister.

Prue didn't really appear comforted but any response was interrupted as one of the waitresses stopped next to their table. "Waitress coming through." She called as she made her way to the Halliwell table with a drink. "Special delivery." She announced cheerfully, sitting a glass of wine down in front of Prue.

"Hey, Skye." Piper greeted sounding a little dejected.

"Hey, Skye." Phoebe echoed though her tone of voice betrayed her distance as she stared at the glass of wine in front of Prue. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not allowed to have that. What are you doing ordering it?" She demanded to her youngest sister.

Prue would have offered a greeting to Skye, but she was distracted by the wine being placed in front of her and Phoebe interrogating her. Skye waved pleasantly to the three sisters while Prue searched for words. "Uh… I think there's been some kind of mistake. I didn't order this." Prue spoke up, looking at Phoebe while pointing at the wine glass. She relaxed slightly when Phoebe's gaze softened upon realizing her sister wasn't ordering drinks that were still illegal for her. Especially since she was dating a cop.

Skye smiled and gave a slight nod. "I know. You have a secret admirer." Skye explained.

"Who?" Phoebe turned on the waitress while Piper narrowed her eyes slightly.

Skye pointing around them to a young handsome man sitting in a wheelchair. "He ordered it for you." She answered. All three pairs of eyes glanced around for a better view of the man Skye pointed out. He noticed the attention and held up his drink in greeting.

"Who's that?" Piper asked, her eyes narrowing into slits. He seemed kind of shady.

Prue bit her lip slightly at the attention while Phoebe looked as if she was about to stalk over there and beat the guy up. Prue had to quickly grab her hand to stop her from doing just that.

"I have no idea. I'm just following the bartender's orders, and apparently he's had his eyes on Prue all night." Skye replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Phoebe quickly took the drink from Prue and passed it back to Skye. "Take it back and tell him to look at someone else if he doesn't want to end up in the hospital." Phoebe snapped.

Prue grabbed Skye's wrist before the waitress could comply with Phoebe's demands. "Look, just tell him I'm very flattered, but I'm seeing someone else." Prue pleaded hopefully.

Skye smiled and nodded in understanding at the sisters. "Sure." She agreed taking the drink back up.

"Thanks." Prue appreciated as Skye turned to take the drink back to him.

Piper smiled and tilted her head in a scrutinizing manner. "I wonder how Andy would take this guy. Where's he at anyway?" She wondered curiously.

Prue frowned at the thought of Andy having heard this conversation. He was rather protective, rivaling Phoebe sometimes. "He couldn't get off work tonight." Prue mumbled with a sigh. Her eyes flickered nervously to the man across the room.

"Quit looking in his direction. You'll make him think you're interested." Phoebe hissed and Prue quickly averted her gaze.

On the other side of the restaurant Skye reached the man who had sent Prue a drink. He frowned as she approached. "She didn't want the drink?" He guessed with a sigh, fiddling with the arm of his wheelchair.

"I'm sorry, no. She's flattered; she's just seeing someone else." Skye explained, sitting the glass of wine down on his table.

"Sure she is." He agreed with a laugh before turning his gaze on the waitress. "How about you? Maybe you'd like to have a drink with me sometime." He asked with a hopeful smile.

Skye bit her lip and searched for an excuse out of it. "Oh, um, that's really sweet of you but I'm not allowed to date the customers." She explained and then looked away after hearing her name being called by her boss. "Uh, an order is up. I've got to go." She apologized, moving around him to continue working.

**Skye's Apartment**

Late that night Skye moved through her apartment combing her shoulder-length blonde hair out before getting in the bed. She looked at her clock which read 1:05 and set her alarm for that morning before turning out the light and falling asleep. At 2:30, someone flipped the light back on waking Skye up.

"_Hello, Skye." A husky voice greeted her._

"_What the…" She asked groggily before a hand wearing a black glove was placed over her mouth. She jumped and tried to push the hand away from her and get away from the man she recognized from Quake. The same man that had sent Prue a drink. _

"_Shhh… You're in my world now, Skye." He told her. Her room disappeared and was replaced with sky and clouds. He pulled her from her bed and she was wearing a nice evening dress instead of the gown she had put on to sleep in. Her soft carpet was replaced with hard concrete. Skye looked around and it seemed as if she was on top of a building except everything was tinged with red. "You look beautiful in that dress. I knew you would." He complimented her, pulling her along with him as he moved about the roof. _

"_I don't understand." Skye admitted, trying her best to keep calm as he placed his arms around her shoulders and seductively caressed her arms. _

"_It's your dream, but it's my fantasy." He attempted to explain through a seductive whisper in her ear. _

"_Where am I?" She breathed. _

_He laughed at the question and moved slowly to her other side though never taking his hands off of her. "You're dreaming. I'm visiting." He clarified._

"_You're in my dream?" Skye asked in confusion, turning to look over her shoulder at him._

"_Yes, but I can make it mine." He replied, moving around in front of her and taking her hands in his. _

"_You walk." Skye observed._

"_In dreams, I can do anything." He whispered and twirled her into a slow dance, his arms around her. "I can dance in your dreams." He suddenly spun her back around and placed one hand around her neck. "I can alter your dreams." He continued, lowering her down slowly. As Skye was brought back up she desperately tried to escape, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against him. "And I can kill you in your dreams." He warned softly. He slowly led her back towards the edge of the building._

"_No, please." She pleaded, unable to break away from him. _

"_Did you know if you die in your dreams then you die in real life?" He asked her maliciously as he lowered her over the edge of the building. _

_Skye grabbed hold of his arms, scared of falling off the extremely high building. "Please don't hurt me." Skye screamed, looking up into his eyes with fear as he said exactly the same thing, the same time she had. _

_He laughed and pulled her back up only to step up himself. "No, Skye. You rejected me and now you gotta pay." He told her, lifting her body up beside him._

"_Please I'll do anything." She screamed again the same time he did as she struggled to break free of his grasp. _

_He teasingly pushed her closer to the edge. "Sweet dreams." He whispered, pushing her over. Skye screamed as she fell down the drop. The man laughed manically and turned away._

[Opening Credits]

**Skye's Apartment**

Andy and Darryl joined the other investigators early the next morning in Skye's apartment. Her body was twisted in an awkward angle as if most of her bones were broken. Andy watched grimly as pictures were taken and Darryl and he went through what they knew again.

"What do we got here? Her name is Skye Russell, early twenties, waitress at Quake." Darryl read off the sheet, his eyes glancing over at her body every now and then.

"Every bone in her body has been crushed." Andy offered, moving forward for a closer look as the investigator taking pictures moved out of his way.

"Coroner said it was as if she had fallen off a twenty story building." Darryl continued sounding skeptic, coming to stand beside his partner.

Andy glanced around the room unconvinced as well. "But we're in a closed apartment on the ground floor and the body hasn't been moved." He observed while Darryl crouched down next to Skye's body unable to contradict his partner's observations.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper stood in the Solarium trying to copy the movements of the woman on the exercise video while Prue sat in a chair behind her reading some school book that she was supposed to have read before now. After a few moments of silence between them, Piper turned away from the video.

"Ugh, I give up. Two weeks and nothing has strengthened but my temper." She hissed lying down on the exercise mat to rest.

Prue smiled faintly, welcoming the excuse to look away from the boring book and reached out to grab the video box. "Piper, here's the problem. You didn't read the fine print. See, it says right here. $19.95 for the video and twenty grand for the plastic surgeon." She explained with a raise of her eyebrows at the ridiculous price.

"Yeah, well it's worked. She's the most desired female in America. What every man wants." Piper lamented in aggravation.

"Look at it this way… There's only one of her so every man can't have her so they'll just have to settle for one of us." Prue suggested cheerfully causing Piper to frown.

"That makes me feel a lot better, Prue. Thanks." Piper returned sarcastically while Prue rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Really, though, Piper. You shouldn't care about what they want, but what you want. Don't settle." Prue advised with a shrug before turning back to her book.

"Tons of fun, lots of heat, dangerous and no strings attached. That's what I want." Phoebe offered, joining the conversation as she came in from the kitchen eating a bowl of froot loops.

"I know this may not sound very P.C. but I want romance. Long slow kisses, late-night talks, candle lights. I love love. I'd take what Prue has in a flat second." Piper replied, sitting up from the mat with a sigh. "I mean, for being twenty one Andy's perfect."

Prue bit her lip and glanced at Piper uncertainly. "You can't have Andy. He's taken." She mumbled, not sure if she should feel threatened or not by Piper's interest.

Piper quickly shook her head. "No worries, Prue. I just need to find **my** perfect guy." Piper assured her younger sister.

"Well, until then, at least you don't have to deal with the family secret which isn't exactly normal…" Prue offered, relaxing at Piper's assurance and hoping to enlighten the bright side. She grabbed her cup of coffee and grabbed her bag. "I've got to go. Tests." Prue explained, taking off toward the door with her stuff.

"Good luck." Phoebe called after her in which Prue waved in acknowledgement.

"When do you go into work, Pheebs?" Piper asked after she heard the door close announcing that Prue had left.

Phoebe dropped her spoon into her bowl of cereal. "I go in at 10:00. This is just testing day to see if they like my work." She answered.

Piper smiled encouragingly. "Advice columnist? Telling people what to do… I'm sure you'll excel." She laughed.

**San Francisco Police Department**

Andy leaned back in the chair behind his desk as he read over the Coroner's report in the Skye Russell case. "Did you see the Coroner's report?" Andy asked, looking away from the file and focusing on his partner.

Darryl looked up from his computer and gave a slight nod. "Mmm hmm… Skye Russell died of massive internal hemorrhaging. Her body literally imploded upon itself." He quoted unconvinced by the verdict.

"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Andy asked, flipping through the rest of the file.

"Yeah, on jumpers. Their bodies were usually found on sidewalks." Darryl pointed out casually.

Andy narrowed his eyes not appreciating the humor in his remark. "There aren't any signs of external damage consistent with any type of fall. In fact there's not a scratch on her." He countered, tossing the file to Darryl who picked it up and began flipping through it.

"Yeah, well, maybe we were wrong. Maybe the body was moved." Darryl conceded, shaking his head at the information gathered. None of it made any sense.

"From where? How? The front door was locked and bolted; each window had bars on it, none of which had been tampered with in any way. Nobody but she was in that apartment last night. It's not suicide, Morris. And it's sure not death by natural causes which leaves only one thing…" Andy decided, getting up from his desk and walking up to his partner.

"Murder." Darryl finished with a sigh. "I hate it when we say that." He muttered giving Andy a nod of acknowledgement and approval for his thinking.

**Quake**

Piper hastily exited the kitchen and stopped beside a table with a single man writing in a notepad. She paused and placed the dish she was carrying down in front of him. "Here you go, Mr. Manford. The chicken with rice and vegetables. Just the way you like it. Chicken well done, light oil on the vegetables, and rice steamed dry." She read off quickly as if impatient.

"Thanks." Mr. Manford replied, not looking up from his work.  
>"Bon appetite." Piper offered with a roll of her eyes. She turned away and began picking up some plates that needed washing on her way back to the kitchen.<p>

Phoebe walked up to her and waved pleasantly, though she eyed the plates curiously. "Hey. Why are you doing that?" She asked.

"Skye didn't show up for her shift today so we're short-handed." Piper responded shortly, none-too-pleased about the situation. Phoebe gave a slight nod in understanding and followed Piper as she turned for the kitchen. Phoebe ran ahead of Piper and held the kitchen doors open for her younger sister. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" She questioned curiously, when Phoebe didn't immediately explain her presence.

Phoebe held up a stack of papers that were in her hand. "I brought my work with me. I was hoping for a little advice to tell me if this was good enough to give to my boss." She explained with an innocent smile.

Piper glanced behind her for a moment. "I can't imagine you'd have trouble telling people how to live their lives. What do you really want?" She demanded, not buying Phoebe's explanation for a minute.

Phoebe shrugged. "Okay, fine. I, uh…" The elder Halliwell began, glancing behind her to make sure nobody was listening to them. "I found this spell. 'How to Attract a Lover.'" She finished enthusiastically.

"No, Phoebe. We're not casting any spells." Piper berated without looking over at Phoebe. She was mildly surprised Phoebe was even suggesting it as Phoebe never had trouble with guys. Then again, she seemed to like magical solutions. Piper dropped the plates into the sink in front of her for washing.

"Come on, it'll be fun. As an older sister I have a right to make sure my sisters are happy and you my sister need some help." Phoebe argued, undaunted by Piper's initial reaction.

"No, no personal gain, remember?" Piper countered, glancing up at her elder sister seriously.

Phoebe frowned a little but didn't give up. "How is it personal gain if we're bringing happiness to another person? Of course I'll cast it with you to make sure nothing goes wrong. It'll be oldest and middle sister bonding." She retorted, grinning at the thought.

"Could you pass me that colander, please?" Piper asked, pointing behind Phoebe and hoping for a change of subject.

"Yeah… but look, I'm not talking about marriage here. It's just a time to loosen up a little. We've all got jobs under control, but we shouldn't strain ourselves." Phoebe continued, not willing to let it go that easily. She followed Piper as the younger Halliwell moved to the island in the kitchen.

Piper sighed and placed the colander back down and faced her older sister. "I admit it's tempting. The dating scene can be a little frustrating, but bringing a man into our life through a spell? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that a little bit desperate?" She observed, feeling her defiance break at Phoebe's sound argument.

Phoebe smiled, seeing she had put Piper exactly where she wanted her. "No, it's desperate if we're looking for a permanent relationship. Just to loosen up? No way." She paused for dramatic effect. "Besides the Book of Shadows says we could reverse the spell at any time." Phoebe finished triumphantly. Piper bit her lip and finally gave in.

**The Halliwell Manor**

"Piper, Phoebe?" Prue called loudly as she walked into the kitchen to find Piper slicing up some vegetables on the counter. Prue narrowed her eyes slightly at the scene recognizing the flash of surprise and guilt in Piper's chocolate brown eyes. She shrugged to herself and dropped her bag and textbooks on the table.

"Prue! You're home. I thought you had a date with Andy…" Piper exclaimed trying to act as casual as she could despite noticing that Prue was already mildly suspicious.

"Uh, no. He had to cancel. Which is actually kinda good as I really need to study so I'll have time to work on my photographs tomorrow." Prue answered and then realized the change in subject. "What are you doing?" Prue asked, looking at the range of ingredients spread across the counter.

Before Piper could say anything, Phoebe came walking through the hallway reading the Book of Shadows. She was so entranced by the book that she didn't notice Prue. "Piper, I was wrong. The spell calls for cayenne pepper, not black pepper." Phoebe called. Phoebe waved in greeting to the youngest sister when she caught sight of her. "Hey, Prue. How was school?"

"Fine. What spell are you casting?" The youngest Halliwell asked, leaning against the table casually. She watched her elder sisters closely looking for a hint of a lie.

"I came across a spell that will help Piper loosen up a little." Phoebe explained offhandedly.

Prue's gaze flickered to Piper as if looking for confirmation. Piper smiled and hesitantly nodded. "She found something that actually makes sense…" Piper agreed, taking off her cooking apron and uncertainly meeting her younger sister's gaze.

"You don't sound too sure about that." Prue observed with narrowed eyes. She noticed Piper giving Phoebe a look that clearly said not to elaborate and Prue frowned. "Quit with the jumping around. I'm not gonna do anything." She whined. This was driving her insane.

"I just think that since it can be reversed at any time that it shouldn't be that big a deal if I cast a spell. I mean, all I want is someone special in my life. Why can't I use a little help to get it?" Piper babbled around the question.

Prue stared at her silently, trying to decipher what Piper was rambling about. "Uh… She's a little nervous about the 'personal gain' consequences." Phoebe explained, recognizing the look. "Basically, we're casting the 'Attract a Lover' spell."

Prue smirked and glanced at Piper curiously. "How'd you get Piper to agree to that one?" She giggled, looking at her sister in a new light. That definitely explained why Piper was so jumpy. Definitely not very Piper-like to go off casting spells to solve her problems.

"It wasn't too difficult." Phoebe admitted. "We were wondering if you wanted to join us. I think you're studying just a little too much." She offered, grabbing some of the spices that would be needed for the spell.

Prue looked a little surprised while Piper looked as if she wanted to protest, but didn't. Prue finally shook her head slightly. "No thanks. Girl in a serious relationship here." She reminded them, dropping into a seat at the table and pulling out her laptop. "Besides, I need to study."

"Well, you know where to find us if you need us." Phoebe replied, grabbing Piper's hand and pulling her towards the attic before she had time to think about it too much and decide against it.

"Good luck!" Prue called after them as the other two Halliwells left. She smiled to herself as she began reading through her notes.

~PO3~

Piper and Phoebe made their way quickly up the stairs in their excitement to do the spell. All in all, everything seemed to have turned out well. Piper was quite relieved that Prue didn't feel like jumping in while Phoebe was just excited that she'd gotten Piper to come along with her. Phoebe ran to the old chest that held their Wiccan materials and started pulling out candles for the ceremony. She tossed them to Piper, who stood them up in a circle around the table. While Piper set all the spices up in the middle of the circle, Phoebe lit the candles. Finally they sat down with Kit the cat around the little table, eagerly ready to begin.

"Okay, you want to go first?" Phoebe asked politely, pulling out her piece of paper that had her 'perfect man qualities' written on it.

"No, you go first." Piper insisted with a little nervousness in her voice.

"Okay." Phoebe agreed, but instead of reading off her qualities she shot toward Piper and snatched Piper's 'perfect man qualities' from her hand.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Piper snapped, trying vainly to snatch it back while her elder sister just giggled and began to read it aloud.

"You want a man who is single, smart, endowed…?" Phoebe began, narrowing her eyes at the last word and glancing toward Piper in confusion.

"Employed." Piper corrected and understanding lit Phoebe's eyes. She gave a slight nod, now recognizing the word in Piper's scribble-writing. Piper just rolled her eyes, unhappy with having to go first in the spell.

"Oh, sorry. Employed… A man who loves sleeping in on Sunday, sunset bike rides, cuddling by a roaring fire, and late night talks. A man who loves love as much as you do." Phoebe read, laughing throughout trying to read it. "Wow. You're romantic." She observed in a half-mocking, half-joking tone.

Piper just nodded and snatched Phoebe's paper from her. "Yep. Your turn. You want the sexy, silent type that finds you riding through town on the back of a Harley at 3:00 in the morning. A man who appreciates scented candles, body oils, and Italian sheets." Piper stopped reading and laughed softly.

Phoebe, grinning, took her paper back and began reading the rest of it in a mockingly dramatic voice. "He's about hunger and lust and danger and even though you know all this, even though you know he will never meet your friends or share a holiday meal with your family, you still can't stay away." She finished, her eyes flickering playfully to her laughing younger sister. Keep Piper laughing and she won't freak out. "Oh and he recycles." She added as a P.S.

"He recycles?" Piper asked, thinking it a funny quality to add amongst all the others Phoebe wanted.

"Yeah." Phoebe admitted, taking both of their papers and placing them in the bag of spices for the spell. "And I think it goes without saying that we both want a man who is well… employed." She finished pointedly.

Piper shook her head at the meaning her older sister was suggesting. "You're seriously twisted." She responded and then looked down at the Book of Shadows in front of her and read over the spell. "This is the spell we have to say?" Piper wondered in surprise. It was very simple.

Phoebe glanced over and gave a slight nod. "Yeah. We're lucky. If we were men looking for women the spell requires putting a piece of honey cake in a sweaty armpit for days." Phoebe agreed, tossing the little bag into the pot surrounded by the candles.

"Ew… I think we can say this." Piper commented, leaning over the book.

Phoebe grinned and nodded in excitement. _"I conjure thee, I conjure thee. I am the queen you're the bee, as I desire so shall it be. I conjure thee, I conjure thee. I am the queen you're the bee, as I desire so shall it be."_ The two sisters chanted as a sudden wind blew around them and the Wiccan pot began to smoke. As suddenly as it had started there was a pop where the smoke formed the shape of a heart over the pot and then it subsided, leaving silence between the two sisters. They both glanced at each other excitedly.

"Do you think it worked?" Phoebe whispered eagerly though afraid of breaking the silence.

"I don't know. The big spells usually require all three of us…" Piper pointed out, just as quietly. Below, the sound of the phone ringing echoed through the quiet house. Phoebe and Piper grinned, taking off down the stairs hoping it was for one of them. When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs Prue was on the phone.

"Is it for me?" Phoebe and Piper asked at the same time, halting beside their sister.

"This is Prue. Who is this? Um, I'm sorry, do I know you?" Prue asked into the phone while silence fell over the other two sisters who crowded around Prue to hear the conversation.

"Yeah. We met at Quake. Well, we didn't actually meet. I sent you a glass of Chardonnay and you sent it back. Still, I was wondering, maybe you'd like to go out sometime." The husky voice of the drink-sender and murderer of Skye Russell stated through the phone. Prue bit her lip slightly at the invitation. Prue's uncertainty immediately alerted her older sisters to suspicious activity and they leaned forward to better hear.

"Um, look, as I told the waitress, I'm just not available. How'd you get my number, my name?" Prue wondered into the phone. On the other end he hung up at the rejection. "Hello?" Prue called but realized he'd hung up on her so she put the phone back on the receiver.

"Who was it?" Phoebe asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The guy from Quake who sent me a drink." Prue mumbled distracted by his apparent persistence bordering on stalking.

"And what did he want?" Piper inquired, a bit of nervousness mixed in with her suspicion.

"He asked me out." Prue answered, still pondering.

Phoebe's frown deepened. "Did you tell him anything?" She interrogated.

Prue shook her head quickly. "No, but he obviously got my number and my name from somewhere…" Prue admitted.

"Okay, Piper, lock all the doors… You don't work the night shift tonight, do you?" Phoebe questioned, glancing back at Piper.

"No." Piper replied. "I'm gonna guess that none of us are leaving tonight, right?"

"Correct. Prue, if you see him again, you tell us. I'm going to go call Andy and report him." Phoebe decided, taking up the phone that Prue had just dropped.

Prue's hand shot out and stopped Phoebe from grabbing it. "Don't call Andy now. It's not that big of a deal. If I see or hear from him again, then you can call Andy." Prue pleaded.

Phoebe's brown eyes met Prue's pleading blue ones and she sighed. "Fine, but we're still locking the doors and you have to promise to say something if you see him again."

"Promise." Prue agreed before glancing back at her work that littered the table. "I think I'm going to take a bath…" She was getting a migraine. Prue watched Piper and Phoebe move to the kitchen to talk before heading up to her bathroom. She turned the hot water on and poured in some bubble bath. While it was filling up she lit the candles placed sporadically around the bathroom, choosing a lighter and softer source of light instead of blinding light bulbs. Prue finally allowed herself to relax in her bath tub after the long day filled with school work and then stopping by the magazine studio. She closed her eyes but her sleep was interrupted, or so she thought, by a man placing his gloved hand harshly against her face.

"_Hello, Prue." Skye Russell's murderer greeted her softly. _

_Prue jumped awake in surprise accidently sending a splash of water over the lip of the tub. "Who the hell…" Prue began demanding an explanation, trying her best to hide her fear, but the murderer caught her off guard by finishing her thought._

"… _Am I and how did I get in? Hmmm…?" He suggested with a grin._

"_I don't care just…"_

"_Get out of the bathroom?" He finished again. _

_Prue's eyes flickered to the door and her hand shot over the edge of the tub to grab the towel that she set out on the floor. "Piper, Phoebe help!" She screamed at the same time he said it as well. He laughed taking hold of the towel that she was desperately trying to get. Prue's eyes flashed and she jerked the towel out of his hand pulling it to her._

"_Scream all you want. No one can help you." He warned, leaning toward her. _

"_How did you know…?" Prue began to ask hesitantly when once again he finished her thought for her._

"_What you are thinking? What you're going to say?" He offered. _

_Prue let out a shaky breath. "Yes…" She breathed. _

_The murderer closed his eyes as if thinking of how to phrase the answer. "I'm in your unconscious. I know your every thought and desire." He answered._

"_Who are you?" Prue demanded, wrapping the towel she had acquired around herself while he was distracted with the questions. _

_His hand reached out to stroke her hair and she flinched away from his touch. "I'm the man of your dreams." He replied cryptically. Around them, her bathroom disappeared to be replaced with the roof of a building scenery as seen previously with Skye Russell. The only difference was the bath tub, Prue, and everything was tinged with blue instead of red. _

_Prue narrowed her eyes at the change and decided this just couldn't be real. At least she hoped it wasn't. "You're not real. You don't exist." She told him, focusing all her energy on trying to make him disappear like she used to be able to do when she had nightmares. _

_He just laughed softly at her. "That's what your mother used to say, isn't it? Every night, before you went to sleep?" He asked rhetorically. _

_Prue let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate more. "You are not real. You don't exist." She repeated and kept whispering it under her breath, willing it to work. _

"_As she tucked you in? She'd say if you saw any monsters to tell yourself they weren't real." He continued to taunt her. He slowly got up from beside her and grabbed a sponge from the bath tub and walked to her other side. Prue kept her eyes closed, trying desperately not to panic when he didn't disappear. "They didn't exist?" He finished, reaching out with the sponge to touch her shoulder. _

_She flinched away from his grasp and tried to get away from him, but something held her still. "I can't move. Why can't I move?" Prue whispered fearfully as he caressed her shoulders with the sponge. _

"_Because I'm going to love you to death." He replied in a seductive whisper. He pressed the sponge on her shoulder and rubbed it so hard down her back that it cut deeply into her skin, making her bleed. She gasped at the pain and vainly tried to move away again as he laughed maliciously at her helplessness. He dropped the sponge and shoved her roughly under the water in an effort to drown her. Prue struggled in his grasp under the water to no avail, but suddenly heard a knock on the door. _

She jumped awake and shot out from under the water. Her eyes flickered around her only to find no dream guy and she gasped for air in relief.

Piper opened the door, staring with concern at Prue who was in a stunned silence. "Prue? Are you okay?" She asked uncertainly.

"No." Prue managed to say, rubbing soap and water away from her eyes as she practically jumped out of the bath tub.

"You were yelling. What happened?" Piper demanded, reaching out to steady Prue when the youngest Halliwell stumbled in her haste to get away.

"Yeah, I had a… a really bad thing." Prue whimpered. She didn't know how to explain what had happened, especially not just now with her thoughts in as much disarray as they were. She gripped the towel tighter around her at just the thought of the dream guy.

"A thing?" Piper repeated, raising her eyebrows. She looked closer at Prue when Prue's hand moved to touch her shoulder. Piper's eyes widened. "Prue, are you bleeding?"

Prue didn't respond as she began to panic more at the sight of the blood on her hand. "Piper, he was here. I saw him." She mumbled, turning teary blue eyes to her older sister.

"Okay, Prue, calm down. It's okay." Piper assured her, pulling Prue into her arms. She looked over her shoulder at the door. "Phoebe!" She yelled, carefully leading Prue to the counter where she sat the younger sister down.

Prue flinched as Piper lightly touched her shoulder. They both turned as the stairs creaked announcing Phoebe running up the stairs. Prue's panic continued to rise at what he had done to her and what he could have done.

~PO3~

The next morning Phoebe dropped into a chair next to Piper as the middle Halliwell sister drank her morning coffee. Both elder sisters looked tired. At least until Phoebe stole Piper's coffee causing Piper to look very much alive when she glared at Phoebe. "Did you ever manage to get Prue to sleep?" Phoebe asked quickly in order to divert Piper's attention to something else.

Piper fell for it as she always had and frowned in worry. "She hardly slept at all. Do you remember what Mom used to say about nightmares?" She questioned curiously.

"Yep, she said to tell monsters to go away and that they didn't exist." Phoebe answered promptly.

"Well, I tried to tell Prue that to at least try and help a little, but it didn't help. I just had to stay up with her all night. You should have seen her. She was terrified of falling asleep." Piper stressed, running a hand through her hair.

"Poor girl." Phoebe sighed. "At least it's Saturday. She doesn't have to do anything." She offered to lighten the mood.

Piper shook her head in disagreement. "She insists on going to work on her magazine. I was supposed to wake her up if she fell asleep, but I couldn't. I mean, she's exhausted." Piper exclaimed.

"Between that magazine and her school, she works way too much." Phoebe agreed.

There was a short silence that fell between the two sisters. "So, did you talk to Andy?" Piper finally asked.

"No, he wasn't there. I talked to Morris, Andy's mentor/partner guy. I gave him the description and claimed the Dream guy was stalking Prue." Phoebe replied, taking another gulp of hot coffee. "But if he keeps attacking and hurting her, we're gonna have to come up with a different story." She added, obviously hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"Ugh!" Piper groaned, dropping her head onto the table.

Phoebe chuckled softly before getting back to her feet. "I'll be right back." Piper didn't respond except to wave her hand in acknowledgement.

Prue came in only a few minutes after Phoebe disappeared. She dragged herself to the table and dropped down in the seat Phoebe had been sitting in. Her camera was strapped around her neck and she had a bag that she sat on the floor next to her chair. "Is there any coffee?" Prue mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Piper pushed her mostly gone cup of coffee that Phoebe had stolen and left behind to Prue. She did glance up curiously. She noted that Prue must really be tired because she wasn't complaining about not being woken up on time. "How are those cuts?" Piper inquired gently, a look of worry still in her eyes.

"They're gone." Prue answered, her hand moving to gently touch where the Dream guy had cut through her skin the night before. They still felt sore, but when she'd looked in the mirror they hadn't been there.

Piper raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What? How is that possible?" She demanded. Prue just shrugged, finally looking up to meet Piper's eyes. "Last night… why didn't you move him away?" Piper questioned.

"I… don't know." Prue admitted softly. Her mouth dropped and she looked incredibly confused when she saw a very handsome young man (with his shirt off which shown his amazing muscles) join them in the kitchen.

"Morning." He called, walking to the refrigerator.

Prue and Piper stared in stunned silence, no doubt attracted to him. Both sisters exchanged glances with each other as the man pulled out the milk jug and downed what was left. Piper finally spoke up after being nudged into speaking by Prue's foot that stomped on hers. "Uh, who are you and what are you doing in our house?" Piper demanded, as politely as she could in her surprise. Piper made a face that clearly said she could care less since he was so attractive and Prue giggled uncontrollably.

Phoebe came back in at that moment and cast a knowing look at her sisters. "Hans, I found your t-shirt." She stated with a grin to them. She stopped next to them and leaned forward. "I picked him up at the police station." Phoebe whispered in explanation.

"Was it in the hammock or…" Hans began to ask, placing the empty milk jug on the counter and walking over to meet Phoebe. He took his shirt from her and pulled it on.

"It doesn't matter…" Phoebe replied, grinning. Piper glanced over at Prue and mouthed 'hammock?' A faint blush fell across Prue's cheeks and she ducked her head, trying to stifle the laughter.

"I gotta run. I'll meet you later for lunch." Hans told her, pulling Phoebe into a quick kiss.

"Okay." Phoebe agreed as he pulled away from her.

"Oops, I almost forgot." He turned back to the counter and dropped the empty milk jug into the recycling bin next to the trash can before leaving.

Phoebe finally turned to her curious sisters, glowing. "We had safe sex." She assured, being sure to set the example. "… a lot of safe sex." She couldn't resist but add.

"Ew…" Piper whispered, turning away from Phoebe. Prue just nodded, still laughing.

**San Francisco Police Department**

Andy slid several large files across Morris' desk for him to look over. "It's all right here in their F.B.I. files." He stated, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"Why do you do this to me?" Morris asked rhetorically, pulling them closer so he could look at them for his partner.

"Three young women completely unrelated except for the fact that they all died the exact same way as the waitress." Andy summarized the contents of the files, ignoring Darryl's complaining. He turned away, awaiting Darryl's response.

"The medical examiner listed them all as jumpers, case closed." Darryl read with a nod.

"Look at the crime photos, all the Vics were found locked in their rooms. We've got the MO of a serial killer here, Morris." Andy continued, walking back to Darryl after refilling his coffee mug.

Darryl pulled the pictures out and glanced through them before putting them back up realizing his partner was onto something. "We'll look into it, but we also have your girlfriend's case." He pointed out.

Andy's head snapped around to look at Darryl. "Prue? What case?" Andy demanded in confusion, a feeling of dread swept through him.

"Her stalker. Did she not tell you?" Darryl wondered, seeming just as confused. Andy shook his head and waved for Darryl to explain. "Oh, well, her sister, um, Phoebe, showed up last night at like 2 looking for you. She claimed Prue had a guy stalking her. Gave a description and I told her we'd look into it and that they should just lay low until we can figure it out." He elaborated.

Andy's frown deepened at the explanation. "Good. I'm going to go call her real quick." He decided. He had to make sure she was okay. Phoebe usually wouldn't ask for help unless it was really bad. Andy received a nod from Darryl and moved to his desk where he picked up the phone.

**Quake**

Piper left the kitchen carrying somebody's food in one hand while her other hand held a phone to her ear.

"Look, Piper, I'm fine. It's been like an hour and you, Phoebe, and Andy have all called to check on me. I can't get anything done." Prue exclaimed into the phone. The desk she was allowed to use while working had her school books spread across the table that she was obviously working on. Her chair was swiveled so that she could keep an eye on the dark room where her pictures were being developed. The red light was supposed to flash after the end of an hour which meant she could take them out of the solution.

Piper sighed loudly and would have thrown her hands in the air dramatically if either of them had been free. "Okay, okay. I'll tell everyone to stop calling. Just don't stay out too late." She consented reluctantly.

Prue didn't respond immediately as Hannah, looking as smug and hostile as ever, stopped in front of Prue's desk. "Did you finish those pictures yet?" Hannah demanded, offering a sickly sweet smile.

"Um, they're in the dark room now." Prue answered hesitantly.

Hannah's smile faded to a frown. "Well, I need them done today…"

"All of them?" Prue interrupted in disbelief.

"Yeah. And don't forget the articles for each of them and designing the layout." Hannah continued, almost daring Prue to argue with her.

Prue remained silent though her eyes flashed angrily. "I thought **your** job was to put the magazine together…" Prue pointed out, careful to keep her voice even.

"Now it's yours. Rex and I have other, more important, business to take care of." Hannah explained as if talking to a child. "Good luck, Ms. Halliwell. I expect it to be on my desk by 6:00 tomorrow morning." With that she spun around and left.

Prue groaned and turned her attention back to Piper, who sounded as if she was thinking of ways to teach Hannah a lesson. "Um, Piper, don't worry about it. I gotta go." She insisted. Prue hung up quickly before Piper even had a chance to respond. She took a moment to compose herself before pulling her laptop toward her to try and figure out the best layout for each page.

~PO4~

Piper sighed and irritably threw the phone on the nearest empty table for her to pick up later and proceeded to take the plate of food that she was still holding to Mr. Manford. "Mr. Manford, here you go. Chicken, rice, and veggies just the way you like it." Piper told him and then turned to leave. She halted when Mr. Manford actually spoke back to her.

"Thank you, and please call me, Jack." He offered, turning in his seat to look at her better. Piper hesitated before turning back and regarding him with curiosity. Mr. Manford took his glasses off, his eyes not leaving Piper. "Has anyone ever told you how truly beautiful you are?" He wondered.

"Have you been drinking?" Piper asked, laughing and taking a few hesitant steps toward Jack.

In response, Jack laughed and shook his head. "A sense of humor. I love that." He commented while Piper just forced a laugh. Piper quickly turned to leave before the conversation could get any more awkward and weird. "Wait, Piper, don't go. I don't know why, but I have to get to know you. Have dinner with me." Mr. Manford suggested, hopefully.

"Can you hang on a second?" Piper pleaded.

"Yeah." Jack whispered while Piper gave a slight nod and turned away, heading towards the kitchen. She grabbed her phone when she passed by and leaned casually against the kitchen door as soon as she was obscured from view. Piper didn't notice one of her chefs walk up behind her. She felt eyes on her and she turned her head slightly. Piper smiled politely more than a little creeped out when he leaned against the wall in beside of her.

"You know, you shouldn't have dinner with that guy." He stated slowly. Piper regarded him with polite curiosity though in truth she wanted to punch him in the face. "Why not?" She asked instead of her initial reaction.

"Because you should fly to Paris with me." He explained and then went silent waiting on her answer.

Piper turned away and clenched the phone in her hand. "Get back to work." She ordered, praying that he would actually listen to her. He reluctantly backed away and Piper began dialing the number to Phoebe.

**The Bay Mirror**

Phoebe was sitting on the edge of her desk, flipping absently through some pages while talking to Piper on speaker. "It's just the spell working." Phoebe assured Piper when the middle Halliwell called and seemed to be freaking out. "If you don't want to go out with them than just tell them to beat it. They're not going to attack you." She added with a laugh.

"Talk softer, Phoebe. I'm at work!" Piper exclaimed, nervously glancing around herself to make sure no one was paying attention. Lucky for her, they weren't.

"I'm at work too. Oh and you're on speaker by the way." Phoebe laughed, awaiting her sister's scolding. She leaned casually back against her monitor and opened up another envelope that littered her desk. Phoebe wouldn't have been disappointed as "Phoebe!" sounded out of the speaker. "Relax, Piper. There's no one here. So what would you say to someone that is afraid of living on their own, but is getting kicked out of where they currently live?" She suddenly asked.

On the other side of the line, Piper rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'd tell her to get a life." Piper answered shortly.

"I don't think that's what they're looking for. How about she get a dog?" Phoebe suggested, mostly to herself. She nodded thoughtfully, seeming to like that idea and spun around so that she could type it into her column. "Anyways, back to the spell, isn't it cool? I mean, Hans was only at the police station because he got a flat tire on his motorcycle on the way back from his acting classes. The police helped him out." Phoebe continued.

Piper stayed silent through Phoebe's predictable story. "Sounds more like hormones to me." She argued.

Phoebe shrugged despite Piper being unable to see her. "Whatever, we're going to lunch so I've got to go. Some advice: just talk to one of the guys. You'll see." Phoebe suggested before hanging up and running out to meet Hans, who was waiting outside her office. Hans picked her up and spun her around before cheerfully pulling Phoebe out with him.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper and Phoebe sat in the Foyer, putting on finishing touches for their dates while Piper filled Phoebe in on Jack. She worded her explanation so that Phoebe thought she was having fun with the spell though she didn't find it as appealing as her elder sister. In fact, she wanted to get rid of this guy as quickly as possible.

"So Jack stayed through the entire lunch shift, talked my ear off, had me laughing at all his stories, and somehow convinced me to have coffee with him." Piper related the day's events to her eldest sister as Phoebe bent down to tie the straps of her shoes.

"Hans and I are going dancing at the Rave. You and Jack should come join us." Phoebe offered cheerfully after Piper had sat down next to her on the couch.

Piper smiled a little at the offer but didn't want Phoebe to see how unhappy she was with how the spell turned out for her. Not to mention they probably wouldn't be able to make it anyways. She decided to give Phoebe the latter excuse. "Well, if our dinner date lasts as long as our coffee break, we wouldn't make it there 'til closing." She replied and Phoebe giggled at the response.

"Maybe we can all meet back at the house later." She suggested, getting to her feet and grabbing her jacket off the hook next to the door. Phoebe turned back to see Piper watching her and hesitated before going out the door. "You're lying, aren't you?" Phoebe guessed.

"Yeah." Piper responded truthfully. She forced a smile at Phoebe and shrugged. "I think I'm going to reverse the spell after I get back from telling Jack off again." She admitted.

Phoebe nodded in understanding. "Do you want me to help? I mean, I can tell Hans I'll be late…" She offered but Piper shook her head quickly.

"No, go party. I can handle it." Piper insisted. Phoebe hesitated a moment longer before waving and walking out the door.

**The Dream Lab**

Andy and Darryl arrived at the Dream Lab later that night to question one of the researchers. Darryl flashed his police mark to the attendant on duty and he led them to a room where they could wait. The room was set up similarly to that of a dentist's office with the plastic chairs, but the machinery set up was ahead of the time it seemed.

"So this is a dream lab? They actually pay people to sleep here?" Darryl questioned in surprise, but he didn't appear to be impressed. He was more skeptic that people got paid for something as easy as sleeping, especially with a drug boost.

"If you wait here, I'll tell Mr. Berman you would like to speak with him." The attendant offered, leaving them in the empty room.

"Thank you." Andy replied politely, watching the attendant leave before taking a few moments to survey his surroundings with interest. After the attendant left Darryl turned to his partner with a quick word of caution.

"I'll do the talking, rookie. And remember, just because Berman dated the first victim…" He began, but Andy cut him off.

"Julie Derickson."

"… Doesn't make him a killer." Darryl finished his warning, satisfied when Andy gave him a slight nod.

"Yeah, but it's a great place to start. It's our only place to start…" Andy muttered, tapping Darryl on the shoulder and pointing to the room with the chair. He led the way into the adjoining room.

"What do you know about this place anyways?" Darryl asked as he followed Andy.

"Just that Julie Derickson worked here too. She and Berman were teamed together on some kind of experimental project."Andy answered and then fell silent as Berman entered the room in his wheelchair. Andy's eyes flickered calculatingly over Berman.

"Hello, Inspectors. How may I help you?" Berman greeted stopping in the original room the attendant had left Andy and Darryl in.

The two officers didn't answer until they had returned to the other room and reached Berman. "Are you Whitaker Berman?" Darryl began the informal interrogation while Andy hung back a few steps.

"Yes, what's this about?" Berman asked, feigning ignorance of this investigation.

"We're conducting an investigation. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Darryl replied, giving a slight nod to Andy to show him the pictures.

"Regarding?" Berman wondered, turning to Andy who stepped forward and passed him a photo from one of the files.

"Do you know this woman?" Andy questioned and then fell silent watching Berman intently for signs of recognition or lying.

"That's Julie Derickson. She was my girlfriend. I was heartbroken when she…" He trailed off; acting grieved by her death and handed the picture back to Andy who took it from him. "Forgive me, it's just very hard. I still miss her." Berman apologized.

"Another woman died just like her the other night. A waitress, crushed to death in her sleep." Andy explained their presence while watching how this new revelation would affect Berman. He ignored the warning look that Darryl sent at him.

"You're kidding." Berman stated slowly.

"No." Darryl responded shortly while Berman turned to look at him.

"That… That's awful." Berman commented, glancing back at Andy as he took a step forward.

"Mr. Berman, could you tell us your whereabouts the night before last?" Andy demanded, not satisfied with the experimenter's reaction to their news. He was too calm and too cold.

"I was here in the lab asleep. I left in the morning." Berman answered promptly.

"Any witnesses who can confirm that?" Darryl asked.

"A nights worth of day, two scientists, and a lab technician. Shall I have them paged?" Berman suggested almost daring the two cops to say yes. Andy's eyes narrowed, but he looked away, unable to prove his suspicions at the present time.

"No that's okay, Mr. Berman. Sorry we disturbed you. Thank you for your time." Darryl replied, pulling lightly on Andy's arm for them to leave. Andy led the way out, leaving Whitaker Berman alone in the room.

**Quake**

Piper was suffering through her date with Jack, beginning to get frustrated at his undying interest in her. She was running out of things to say that could potentially turn him off.

"What else can I tell you…? When I get stressed, I get hives in **very** strange places. Which is nothing compared to what happens when I panic, believe me." She lied hoping to scare him off. She crossed her arms with satisfaction. Surely, he would leave now… Nope.

Instead, Jack smiled and nodded. "Your honesty is so refreshing." He complimented causing Piper to sigh, but she recovered quickly.

"Well, it helps keep my **ulcer** under control." Piper admitted. Since the spell was cast to attract a guy to her, she was hoping that something that wouldn't be attractive in her mind would break the spell. Unfortunately, the idea was better than the actual results.

"It's the nineties. I mean, is there anyone who doesn't have one?" Jack asked rhetorically, leaning closer to her instead of away as Piper had hoped.

Piper bit her lip before forcing a smile and leaning forward in false eagerness. "Would you like to see my tattoo?" She questioned hastily.

"Would you like to see mine?" Jack countered, leaning even closer to Piper, as if everything she said attracted him closer to her.

"Uh… Is there nothing I can say to turn you off?" Piper wondered, with a slight shake of her head.

"There really isn't." Jack answered immediately. He pulled away for a brief moment as if he just realized that his answer was weird. "Which is kind of strange actually." He commented, but didn't really appear fazed by the phenomenon.

"Not really…" Piper replied and then decided to tell him the truth. She figured worst case scenario he would think she was being funny or figurative. "Jack you're under a…." She trailed off as Jack leaned forward and kissed her. Piper raised her eyebrows awkwardly and was extremely thankful when he pulled away. "… Spell." She finished in a whisper. She smiled politely at him, but caught sight of another man waving and checking her out from behind Jack. She forced a smile that faded ever-so-slightly upon seeing another man holding a wine glass and winking at her from one of the doorways to an adjoining room. Piper laughed nervously when she heard someone talking to her from behind.

"Hey there." He said and she turned uncertainly around to find a man offering her a white rose. Piper ignored him and looked back at Jack before admitting a freaked-out laugh. She glanced around at all the guys and fell silent trying desperately to think of some way out of this predicament.

**Dream Lab**

Mr. Berman pulled himself out of his wheelchair and onto the chair where he conducted his experiments for dream leaping. One lab technician helped him up while another began to connect all the machinery needed to him.

"Give me thirty cc's of Vandereen." Mr. Berman ordered once he was settled as comfortably as possible in the chair.

The lab technician that was putting the shot together looked over at him uncertainly. "Thirty cc's? That's twice…" He began to argue against the wisdom of that order, but he was cut off harshly by Mr. Berman.

"I'll be in REM sleep quicker and longer. Set the dream inducement to level 12." Mr. Berman continued, ignoring the advice of the other technicians.

"We haven't got the results back from level eight." The technician warned.

Mr. Berman, annoyed with the technician, grabbed roughly onto his arm and pulled him down. "This is **my **dream. **My** experiment. Set the machine and give me the shot." Mr. Berman snapped, causing the technician to nod nervously and follow his orders.

**The Magazine Studio**

Prue stared at the computer, her chin resting on her hand as she attempted to finish up the magazine layout. Her eyes burned from the long hours with the computer so she didn't notice when the computer fell into sleep mode. All she knew was that everything was much more comfortable with only the desk lamp as a light source. She dropped her head onto her arms, her eyes watching for the red light that announced her pictures were ready to be taken out of the solution. Prue hadn't expected to fall asleep but the silence of the empty building and only the lamp as light lulled her as surely as her bedroom would have. Whitaker Berman, once again, took control of her unconscious.

"_Hello, Prue. We meet again." He greeted, sitting in the chair behind her desk while Prue slowly opened her eyes and glanced up at him in confusion. "All that work, all those hours. You fell asleep at your desk." Berman explained, relaxing back into his chair. The women's initial reaction to him was always the best part. Prue's eyes flashed with understanding and her hand shot out to grab a letter opener that was on her desk, so as not to be totally defenseless like last time. _

"_Help!" She screamed, despite being sure that there was no one else in the building that could help her. Her office disappeared and she was back on top of the building, the clouds tinged with red this time. Prue desperately glanced around for a way out. Any way out._

"_What do you hide from at work? Is it the pain of your past or the uncertainty of your future?" He asked, getting up out of his chair and slowly approaching a struggling Prue._

"_I don't hide from anything." Prue hissed, trying to get out of the chair, but just like last time she found she couldn't move. _

"_Can't move out of the chair, can you?" Berman observed with satisfaction. He grabbed hold of the back of the chair and spun it around dangerously fast until Prue faced him. "Don't you wonder why?" There was manic gleam in his eyes as he began to roll the chair toward the edge of the building with Prue still struggling to get free. "Because I don't want you to. You're powerless, Prue." Berman answered his own question for Prue's benefit. _

"_Go to Hell." Prue snapped, finally settling back into the chair. There had to be another way to get free, struggling obviously wasn't doing anything. _

_Berman ignored her outburst and continued as if he had been uninterrupted. "I, on the other hand, am the all-powerful. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. There's always Piper, Phoebe, or any number of young single women out there. It's an endless pool for the dream sorcerer." He warned with a grin that sent chills down Prue's spine. Fear flashed through her blue eyes, but it wasn't the fact that the chair was moving closer to the edge of the building. It was for her sisters. He knew about them. He could hurt them. _

"_No, wait, I'll stay." She pleaded, anything to keep her sisters safe._

"_It's too late. You're falling asleep." Berman laughed and Prue shook her head defiantly._

"_No, I'm fine. I'm awake." She countered, her desperation beginning to switch into hysteria._

"_Shall I sing you a lullaby?" Berman suggested, halting the chair just on the edge of the building. _

"_I don't think so." Prue hissed and slammed her foot up, kicking him, and stabbing his hand with the letter opener that she had gotten off her desk. _

_He screamed in pain and anger. Before Prue could do anything, he had roughly shoved her back into the chair and spun it to face the edge. "Good night, Prue." Berman yelled over her scream. He pushed the chair to the edge when a phone ringing woke Prue up with a jolt._

She was again back in her office, alone, with her cell phone jingle echoing through the eerie silence. Prue frantically grabbed at her phone, trying to hold herself together for the person on the other end.

"Hello?" Prue answered hastily, swinging her chair around away from the door and where the Dream Sorcerer had sat. Tears shot in her eyes that she attempted to keep from being heard in her voice.

"Hi, you at your house?" Andy wondered, his smile evident in his voice.

Prue let out a shaky breath. "Um, not exactly." She whispered, flinching at the slight break in her voice. She drew her legs up into her chair and rested her head on her knees while clutching the phone as if her life depended on it.

"You're still at the studio?" He guessed skeptically. He was about to start scolding her when he thought about her voice. It sounded strained or barely controlled… was it fear? He suddenly remembered her stalker. "Everything okay?" He asked gently, the worry radiating off his voice.

Prue shook her head despite him being unable to see her. "C-can I come see you?" She pleaded.

"Sure. Do you want me to come get you?" Andy questioned. He was already grabbing his jacket and his keys.

"No. No, it's okay. I'll drive. Meet you there." Prue insisted nervously.

Andy paused uncertainly. He wasn't supposed to leave. Darryl had just gone to get coffee, but still… He didn't want Prue to drive as she was obviously upset about something. Andy sighed, knowing Prue, she probably wouldn't wait for him to pick her up anyway. "I'm at the Station House." He stated reluctantly.

"Okay, bye…" Prue breathed before quickly hanging up with her boyfriend. Without looking up she placed her phone in her purse and started grabbing her stuff together. She still had the letter opener gripped tight in her other hand so when she spun around to find Rex right behind her, she screamed and threatened to stab him with it before she realized who it was.

"Bloody Hell." Rex cursed, leaping back at Prue's unexpected threat. He stared at her in surprise, but she didn't notice. Prue's eyes focused on the letter opener in her hand that was already dripping with blood that was running down her hand.

**San Francisco Police Department**

"The man is in a wheelchair. He's got no motive and he's got an alibi. So tell me again why you think Berman is our suspect." Darryl replied to his partner's insistence that Berman was/is the murderer.

Andy didn't look up at him and continued studying the files for information that could back him up. Andy smiled triumphantly to himself and leaned back in his chair to look up at Darryl. "Dream leaping." He answered simply.

"Dream leaping?" Darryl repeated in confusion and disbelief. He fell silent waiting for an elaboration on Andy's part.

"That's what Berman's researching at the lab. Dream leaping. The ability to project himself into someone else's dreams." Andy explained with confidence while Darryl's look of disbelief strengthened.

"Into women's dreams and killing them? Now who's dreaming?" He muttered, sitting down on his desk across from Andy.

Andy rolled his eyes and was suddenly defensive. "Not just any women. Women that reject him. Just like Julie Derickson did. She broke up with him when they were driving somewhere. He got into an accident. That's why he's paralyzed." He clarified. Darryl raised his eyebrows prompting an explanation for how his partner knew this stuff. "It's all there in the police report" Andy added, getting to his feet and grabbing his coat as he continued his explanation. "The day after he went back to work in the lab, Julie Derickson died suspiciously. Six months later two more women died in their sleep. Crushed to death. Coincidence? You tell me." He challenged turning to face Darryl.

Darryl frowned a little at his partner's logic. "Love to. Can't." He allowed, reaching for his jacket. "I'll get Brason to come with us. Be ready in ten minutes." Darryl ordered as he walked out the door to find the other officer that would be accompanying them.

Andy smirked triumphantly and dropped back into his seat while reaching for his phone to call Prue. Out of curiousity, he pulled out the police report on her stalker as he listened to the waiting ring. His gaze scanned over the picture of the suspect and he nearly dropped the phone. Phoebe's description was right on. The face of Whitaker Berman stared back at him from the page. A feeling of dread swept through him and he practically ran out to where Darryl had disappeared, still holding his cell in his hand. "The number you have called has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again…" Andy's frown deepened and he glanced over the number he had dialed. Definitely Prue's. Her number wasn't disconnected. He'd just talked to her fifteen minutes ago. In fact, she should be here now and she wasn't. "Darryl." Andy called gruffly for his partner's attention.

**The Halliwell Manor**

"I'm home." Phoebe shouted through the house the moment she entered. She noticed a few vases of flowers along the Foyer that Piper had left after the long sorting that she, Piper, had partaken in when she'd gotten home. As Phoebe walked through on her way to the kitchen she grabbed a small bundle of flowers and a piece of chocolate that she ate. She halted upon entering the kitchen and seeing flowers after flowers with Piper barely visible among them.

"You're home early." Piper commented with false cheeriness as she caught sight of Phoebe.

"Yeah, so are you." Phoebe retorted sitting her small bundle down next to all the vases of flowers and undoing her jacket. "What's with all the flowers? Did your 'fight' with Jack work already?" She asked slowly.

"I wish." Piper muttered, sitting back in her chair and causing her sister to look at her questioningly.

"The flowers were all on the doorstep when I got home..." Piper started. "…They're from men I barely know and men I've never met." Piper finished, voicing her main problem with the situation. "All the flowers in here are for you." She added while Phoebe picked up a large vase and moved it off her seat and forced it onto the table with the other flowers.

"Oh, well. I know they're not from Hans." Phoebe replied, her voice a higher pitch from a half-funny situation.

"What happened?" Piper prompted for an explanation for the sudden change of attitude.

Phoebe's eyes narrowed at some unpleasant event and Piper raised her eyebrows curiously. "He wouldn't leave me alone **all night**. He kept touching me and practically every guy at the bar was hitting on me. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I ditched Hans and left him at the club." Phoebe explained. "So what happened with your date if the fighting didn't work out?" She asked Piper with false merriment, shifting the attention to her.

Piper shrugged. "Everything was perfect, even my faults were perfect." Piper responded, her bad mood showing through in her voice.

"I thought you would have reversed the spell by now." Phoebe commented.

Piper sighed and gave a slight nod as she sat her coffee mug down on the table. "I was. I just didn't know if it would reverse yours too and I didn't want to ruin your date so I haven't yet." Piper explained, thoroughly upset with the let-down of a spell.

"Mmm… well, now that we know you can't replicate love for fun. We can end it." Phoebe allowed. She turned her head at the sound of loud meows where she found lots of cats trying to crawl through the closed windows. "Eh, even our poor cat's in Hell." She remarked, reaching out and grabbing Kit up off the floor. "Go away, horny tomcats." Phoebe ordered though they showed no sign of following her orders.

"Let's reverse the spell now." Piper suggested eagerly. Phoebe nodded but further conversation was ended by the sound of the phone ringing through the house. Piper got to her feet and picked up the phone off the counter while Phoebe let Kit back down and leaned back comfortably in her chair. "Hello? Prue, where are you?" Piper answered, suddenly sounding worried. With a stab of guilt she realized that she'd been so focused on her guy problems she forgot to be watching out for Prue. Phoebe's head snapped over at the word 'Prue' and Piper's obvious worry.

~PO3~

At Bucklands, after successfully getting Rex to leave, Prue continued frantically gathering all her supplies together while she called her sisters for some help. "I'm uh, still at the studio. I-I fell asleep and that m-man from my dream, he tried to kill me again." Prue explained through her tears, gathering everything in her arms.

"What?" Piper replied, stunned. Phoebe's gaze darkened in worry as Piper failed to control her own fear.

"Piper, if I fall asleep he's gonna come back. I'm as good as dead. I can't fight him." She whimpered.

"Well, stay where you are. We'll come get you." Piper promised, but on the other end Prue shook her head despite knowing they couldn't see her.

Prue couldn't even think about staying in the room any longer. "No, I don't want to stay here another minute." Prue snapped fearfully. "Look, I'm gonna go stay with Andy. The station is closer and you can come pick me up there." She insisted.

Piper frowned uncertainly but reluctantly agreed. "Phoebe, go get the car." She hissed before turning her attention back to Prue while Phoebe took off with Piper's keys to start her jeep.

"I want you to look in the Book of Shadows and see if you can find anything on this guy. He calls himself a Dream Sorcerer." Prue added hastily and then hung up before Piper could protest further.

Piper glared at the phone as if it was its fault Prue had hung up on her. "Phoebe. Attic!" Piper yelled as she took off up the stairs to the attic. "Attic. Book. Dream Sorcerer. Find something. Anything. Now." She directed to herself as she climbed up the stairs. She immediately began flipping through the book as soon as she was in front of it.

"What are we doing up here?" Phoebe demanded several moments after starting up the car.

"Searching for the Dream Sorcerer." Piper mumbled.

"Find anything?" Phoebe wondered, joining Piper next to the book.

"Nothing." Piper answered shortly.

"Nothing?" Phoebe echoed in disbelief.

"That's what I said." Piper repeated, not looking up from the book to glance at Phoebe. "There's gotta be something." Piper countered her own words. Another few moments of frantic flipping passed before Piper slammed it closed. "There's no Dream Sorcerer stuff anywhere." She exclaimed hysterically.

Phoebe grabbed Piper's arms and spun her around to face her. "Breath, Piper!" She ordered. "We're just going to drive and pick Prue up then we can worry about finding this guy. Now where is she?" Phoebe demanded.

"She went to the station to stay with Andy until we pick her up." Piper answered hurriedly. "We should go… now. She was terrified." She babbled, turning a questioning look to her elder sister for instructions.

"Piper, it's going to be okay. She should be with Andy in a couple minutes and he'll make sure she's safe." Phoebe assured again.

Piper shook her head and glared down at the Book of Shadows. "How can there be nothing in there? The Book of Shadows has never let us down before!"

"Maybe he's not a demon." Phoebe suggested thoughtfully. "Maybe he's a mortal." She fell silent as she followed her own thought.

"Then he's got one hell of a power." Piper muttered, beginning to pace around the room (much to Phoebe's displeasure).

Phoebe rolled her eyes and grabbed Piper's arm again. "Stop that. I can't focus." She grumbled.

"Well, demon, mortal. There's gotta be some way to stop him." Piper pointed out, freezing where she stood.

The two Halliwell sisters looked towards the door as the phone began ringing."That has to be Prue." Piper whispered worriedly. After a moment's hesitation she took off to answer it until Phoebe grabbed hold of her, pulling her back.

"Wait! Piper, I'm going to start driving to pick her up. You just keep talking to her. Keep her calm and don't tell her that we don't know how to stop this guy." Phoebe ordered. In response, Piper just waved her hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement and raced down to the phone. Phoebe followed closely behind but she veered off out the front door while Piper ran to the phone next to the kitchen.

**Prue's Car/ The Halliwell Manor**

Prue hastily dialed the number to the Manor and placed the phone to her ear while keeping one hand on the wheel to her car. "Come on, answer the phone." She pleaded, as she drove her car down the dark road toward the police station.

Piper was just able to grab the phone before the answering machine picked up. "Hello?" She answered, a little breathless from the rush down the stairs.

"Hey, did you, um, find anything?" Prue asked desperately as soon as Piper had answered the phone.

"I'm still looking. It's a big book, sweetheart." Piper lied soothingly. "Just don't worry. You're not in this alone, Phoebe's already on her way to the station to meet you." She added, trying to control her own fear so as not to freak Prue out anymore than she already was.

"How can you help me if we don't even know what he is?" Prue retorted causing Piper to sigh loudly on the other end.

"The most important thing right now is for you to get to the station safely." Piper returned carefully.

"Yeah, okay, um, look. Just keep talking. Don't let me fall asleep." Prue pleaded, taking deep steadying breaths as she fought against her exhaustion and fear.

Piper hesitated answering, trying to think of something to talk about. "How's your photos? Did you get them done?" She questioned, knowing Prue could talk about her photography for ages. She raised her voice louder in the hopes that it would help keep Prue awake.

"I almost finished my photos but I couldn't finish the layout. Piper, I'm gonna get fired…" Prue sighed, obviously distraught.

"Prue, I will personally take it up with your boss. Phoebe and I can be very persuasive. You won't get fired, I promise." Piper assured her. She heard Prue yawn loudly on the other line. "Okay, Prue, blast the air conditioning and roll down the windows." She ordered. "Do you remember the road trip song?"

Prue rolled her eyes at the thought of the obnoxious song that she could only just remember. "Parts of it."

"Well, we're going to sing as much as we can, okay? Don't worry, nothing's going to happen." Piper soothed only to be interrupted by a banging on the front door.

"Phoebe!" A man's voice carried through the front door.

Piper jumped, clutching the phone to her ear. She vaguely recognized the voice. "Hans?" She asked hesitantly. "Phoebe isn't here." Piper continued in a stern voice.

"Let me in! I **have** to see her!" Hans shouted, banging on the door again.

"She's not here!" Piper yelled again. Her jaw dropped and she jumped back as Hans broke down the door and stormed in. "What the hell are you doing? Get out!"

"Piper? What's going on?" Prue spoke into the phone, worry now in her voice. She could hear the door break and her fear for Piper escalated when no one answered.

"She left me! How could she leave me?" Hans continued to shout.

Piper dropped the phone in panic as he advanced. She raised her hands in a sign of peace as she slowly backed away to the stairs. "Look, Hans, she didn't leave you. We had a family emergency and didn't have time to call you or anything." Piper lied hastily.

Hans ignored her. "She's upstairs, isn't she?" Hans guessed, pushing a side table out of his way. His gaze focused on the stairs instead of Piper. "Ever since I met you I can't do anything. Eat, drink, sleep. All I can do is think about you!" He accused, yelling up the stairs where he assumed Phoebe was.

"Piper?" Prue whimpered again, exhaustion beginning to close her eyes.

The Dream Sorcerer appeared next to her in the passenger's seat as if he had been waiting for Prue to fall asleep again. _"The time is now, Prue. We're almost there." The Dream Sorcerer laughed. _

_There was a honk of a car horn and the bright lights of its head lights that jolted Prue awake again. _

"Piper! Where are you?" She screamed fearfully into the phone.

Hans, even more annoyed that Phoebe refused to show, grabbed a vase of flowers and threw it at Piper in his frustration. Piper screamed and threw her hands out and the vase froze in mid-air along with Hans. She stayed where she was in a stunned silence, trying to catch her breath when she remember Prue. "Oh my god, Prue…" She dashed to the phone and scrambled to pick it up while Prue succumbed to the welcoming darkness and her phone slipped from her fingers. "Prue? Prue?"

"_Say goodnight, Prue." The Dream Sorcerer whispered in Prue's ear as the car drove straight for a utility pole. The Dream Sorcerer grinned and laughed manically as the car slammed into it. _

Piper frantically hung up and redialed Prue's number, desperately waiting to hear her baby sister's voice tell her she was okay. "She's not answering." She sighed in defeat, slamming the phone back down. She picked it back up and dialed for Phoebe, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes as she sank down onto the floor amongst the broken glass and strewn flowers that Hans had knocked over.

"Can't fall asleep…" Prue whispered in her semi-unconscious state. Sounds of an ambulance grew louder as they approached the scene of the crash but Prue was unaware of her surroundings.

**San Francisco Police Department**

Phoebe bolted into the stationhouse, only stopping when several officers blocked her way. "Are you Prue Halliwell?" One of them asked.

Phoebe hesitated and quickly bit her tongue to stop from snapping something back at them. "No, I'm her sister, Phoebe. I came to pick her up." She explained. Her worry increased as she realized Prue must not be here yet.

"We were told to watch for her but we haven't seen her yet." Another officer admitted.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "Told?" She prompted.

"Inspectors Morris and Brason took the rookie with them to interrogate the suspect and they told us to explain that to Prue when she got here." The first one clarified.

"You're sure she didn't come in? Really dark brown hair, blue eyes, twenty years old, probably would have had a camera with her…" Phoebe described. The officers shook their heads, watching Phoebe with a sympathetic expression. Phoebe jumped as her phone started vibrating and she quickly pulled it out, hoping to see Prue's name. The caller id read Piper. "Piper? You're supposed to be on the phone with Prue. Where is she?" Phoebe answered without wasting any time for pleasantries. "Slow down… What about Hans?" She continued only to trail off as an ambulance drove by. Her ears rang at the beginnings of a premonition.

_Paramedics pulled Prue out of the wrecked car and placed her on a stretcher. They lifted the stretcher up into the back of the ambulance._

_The Dream Sorcerer carried Prue to the edge of a building, preparing to push her off._

"Piper, I'll call you back. Just stay at the house." Phoebe ordered after a split moment of coming out of the sparing a glance to the officers, Phoebe ran back to her car that she turned to follow the ambulance where she knew she would find Prue.

**The Bay General Hospital**

Prue was hastily pushed down the hallway of the Trauma One section of the hospital by one of the paramedics. The doctor that would be helping Prue ran down the hallway and followed beside the moving stretcher. "Trauma One. What have you got?" The doctor called as she raced down the hallway. The paramedic pushed the clipboard with Prue's information into the doctor's hands.

"A twenty year old female. One-on-one. Car versus utility pole. Bp 80 over 40. Pulse 110. Semi-conscious at the scene." The paramedic listed what she knew as she pushed Prue through several rooms and the doctor flipped through her information.

The doctor dropped the clipboard onto the end of Prue's stretcher and leaned over, shining a light in her eyes. "The pupils are responsive. Miss Halliwell, hang in there." The doctor noted and ran ahead to give orders to some nurses.

"Must stay awake. Must stay awake." Prue whispered as they continued to wheel her around.

"Where's X-Ray? I want a C-Spine now." The doctor ordered as they finally set Prue up in the room the doctor had just entered. The nurses crowded around, some hooking Prue up to machines, while others prepared to lift her onto a hospital bed. "1, 2, 3." The doctor called and Prue was lifted off the stretcher onto the nearby bed.

"Resps are down to thirty five. Pulse-ox is falling." Another doctor observed.

"How can that be? Give me 500 mics of dopamine, and get ready to intubate. Stay with us, Miss. Halliwell… Damn, she's unconscious." The first doctor replied after checking Prue's pupils again.

_Prue awoke to find herself once again in the red-tinged building dream world. Prue glanced groggily up at the Dream Sorcerer, still lying on the hospital bed. "How did I get here? I'm not…" She began but her thought was finished by Berman._

"… _Asleep? Actually, you're unconscious. You fell asleep at the wheel. Hit a pole. Terrible, terrible thing." He laughed as Prue, beginning to panic, reached beside her to grab a phone. "Speaking of pain, you really hurt me last night." The Dream Sorcerer commented, glancing at his glove covered hand that she had stabbed. "And not just my feelings."_

"_Suffer." Prue snapped, beginning to dial a number on the phone for her sisters. Berman laughed at her and snatched the phone from her hands and tossed it away._

"_We're definitely out of range." He explained before reaching over to grab a glass of wine from the side table. "Would you like a little wine with your death?" Berman mocked her, handing the glass to her. _

_Prue flashed him a glare and knocked the glass out of his hand, sending it crashing to the ground where it shattered. "I'm under-age, idiot." She returned harshly. In anger, Berman rolled her bed closer to the edge of the building, making her scream._

**The Dream Lab**

"Mr. Berman insists that he's not to be disturbed during his experiments." The technician replied to Andy and Darryl's demand to speak with him again. Inspector Brason was gathering information on Berman's research project at the desk in front.

"I don't care. We want to talk to him. Just wake him up." Andy snapped, pacing back and forth outside the room Mr. Berman was asleep in.

The technician looked over at the sleeping form of his boss. "It's not going to be easy. He's heavily sedated." He warned the two cops nervously.

Andy's eyes narrowed in impatience. Berman could be attacking his next chosen victim, which quite possibly could be his Prue, this very second and this guy was offering excuses. Darryl sent him a warning glance before turning an equally impatient glare to the technician. "Just get in there and wake him up." Darryl ordered. The technician moved away to wake up Berman while Andy stared through the glass walls with impatience. "Calm down, Trudeau." Darryl warned.

"I will when he's awake or I'm on the phone with Prue and she's clearly not being attacked." Andy retorted, pausing a moment to lean closer to the glass wall. As if on cue, Andy's phone began to vibrate. "Trudeau." He answered.

"Andy? It's Phoebe. Prue was in a car accident. She's in trauma one…" Andy didn't hear anymore. He hung up the phone and began banging on the glass for the technicians to hurry up. There was a very good chance that Prue was being victimized as long as Berman was asleep.

**The Bay General Hospital**

_Prue glanced down and rubbed her hand over the nice evening dress that she was now suddenly wearing. _

"_Do you like the dress?" Berman asked, his eyes flickering over her body._

"_I've worn better." Prue replied harshly and defiantly to this guy that was practically holding her prisoner. _

_The Dream Sorcerer raised his eyebrows at her continuing defiance, appearing impressed. "Hmm… yeah." He acknowledged before leaning forward and picking her up off the bed despite her weak struggling against him._

~PO4~

Piper raced through the hallways of the hospital searching for Phoebe. She nearly ran into Phoebe at the reception desk who was waiting for her to arrive. Unfortunately, there was no one at the desk to ask about Prue.

"Phoebe!" Piper called in surprise. "What happened? Is she okay?" She demanded.

"I saw the ambulances pass by the station and had a premonition. The Dream Sorcerer is going to try and hurt her again." Phoebe summarized.

"That's all very handy but what about Prue?" Piper repeated.

"They won't tell me anything, but I do know she went into Trauma One. " Phoebe vented before pointing behind her sister at the restricted entrance to the Trauma One section. Finally, a receptionist returned to the desk. He had not been there a split moment before Phoebe jumped down his throat.

"Prue Halliwell? Is she okay?" Phoebe demanded while Piper stabbed her demanding sister in the ribs with her elbow.

"You called us a little while ago about our sister, Prue Halliwell." Piper repeated more politely to the receptionist who began to look through the files.

"Your sister is still in Trauma One. If you go down to the waiting room a doctor will be with you in a moment." The receptionist answered, pointing in the opposite direction as the Trauma One section.

"Thank you." Piper acknowledged, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her in the direction he pointed in. Phoebe dragged reluctantly behind. Piper glanced over as the receptionist disappeared into the file room and immediately changed directions to enter the Trauma One section.

Phoebe smirked at the sudden change in direction. "Pretty sneaky, Sis." She commended.

"Prue needs us now." Piper replied shortly. "Is anyone watching?" Phoebe gave a slight shake of her head and Piper pushed into the restricted section and led the way with her sister right behind her.

**The Dream Lab**

"Mr. Berman! Mr. Berman, wake up!" Andy shouted through the glass and banged on the wall trying to get Mr. Berman's attention. He was a little surprised that Darryl actually let him take this into his own hands, but he seemed to understand exactly what Andy did; they needed to wake Berman up immediately. "I don't care what it takes, you wake him up. Now!" Andy ordered the technicians crowding around. He hit the glass again. "Mr. Berman, wake up!"

**The Bay General Hospital**

"_Wake up, Berman!" Andy's voice drifted into Prue's dream prison that Berman stubbornly ignored, determined to have as much fun as he could. He ran his hands over Prue's body, pleased that she was now too weak to struggle against him._

"_Andy…" Prue whispered desperately._

~PO4~

Her sisters had now reached her side and were crowded around her.

"We're here, Prue. Right beside you." Piper breathed to her baby sister, praying she could hear them.

"Can you hear us?" Phoebe whispered, stroking her sister's raven-dark hair. "Come on, Prue. Fight this guy, honey." She encouraged.

~PO4~

"_Prue?" Piper's voice drifted in._

"_Phoebe, Piper?" Prue called weakly._

"_Prue?" This time it was Phoebe's voice._

"_They can't help you. You're mine now." Berman laughed, lifting Prue up and slowly carrying her towards the edge of the building._

~PO4~

Phoebe glanced at Piper who appeared on the verge of tears again. "What do we do?" Piper asked softly.

Phoebe didn't say anything for a moment as she grasped onto her baby sister's hand. "Prue, wake up. Fight him and come back to us." She challenged, stroking Prue's hair with her other hand.

"Use your power, Prue." Piper breathed, taking Prue's other hand.

"Don't leave us." Phoebe whispered with another glance up at Piper.

~PO4~

"_Use your power." "You can do it." Her sisters' voices called to her. Pleaded with her. Ordered her to fight. _

"_Where are you?" Prue asked. She needed them here, where their voices were more than just drifts._

"_You're powerless." The Dream Sorcerer told her, drowning out her sisters' voices and sending Prue farther into hopelessness._

"_Wake up, Berman." "Use your power against him, Prue." "You can do it." "Wake up!" The voices were overwhelming. Andy's, Phoebe's, Piper's. They all drifted in but had been overwhelmed by the Dream Sorcerer's. But they were still there and so were her sisters and her boyfriend. Prue suddenly pushed away from Berman. He was so surprised by her sudden burst of energy that he let her go. Prue, however, dropped to the roof where she crawled backwards away from him._

_Berman looked furious as he advanced on Prue again. "You can't fight me." He yelled at her, not understanding how she found any strength to get away from him. None of the others had._

_Prue panicked and squinted at him. Berman tripped by her telekinesis and he landed face first in front of Prue. He grabbed hold of her ankle as she tried to back farther away. "Let go of me." She screamed only to find herself being dragged back to him._

"_Wake up!" Andy's voice sounded, louder this time._

_Berman had hold of her again but it was obviously taking more effort to control her and block out the cop's incessant voice. "Andy, help me…" Prue pleaded._

"_Wake up, Berman!"_

**The Dream Lab**

Berman shot awake with a look of fury on his face. He yanked the wires that were connected to him out and threw them to the side. "I'm going to kill her!" He promised, forgetting in his anger that he had an audience. Berman glared at his main technician, who shrank away from his anger. "I had her!" Berman suddenly found himself being pulled away from the technicians and pressed against the glass as Darryl forced his arms behind his back and clasped the handcuffs in place. From this angle he could see Andy on the other side of the glass while another officer was passing by to get inside. He shot a look of utmost loathing in Andy's direction.

"Whitaker Berman, you are under arrest for the murder of Skye Russel, Julie Derickson, and two other women…" Darryl began. Inspector Brason took over by stating the Miranda rights as he pushed Berman out to the car. Darryl didn't spare the technicians a glance but walked to where Andy was waiting. "Good work, Trudeau." He offered, clapping the younger man on the shoulder.

Andy just nodded absently, his eyes still trailing after Berman. "I'm gonna go see Prue." He stated.

"I'll give you a ride. Maybe on the way you can explain to me what it is about her and attracting creeps…" Darryl joked to which Andy smiled faintly.

"She does have a kind of habit for it, doesn't she?" Andy realized, running a hand through his hair.

**The Bay General Hospital**

Prue jerked slightly as she shot awake after Berman's hold on her was broken. "Phoebe? Piper?" Prue asked, attempting to move just enough so she could see her sisters.

"Don't move." Phoebe ordered softly. "We're right here." She added, squeezing Prue's hand for emphasis.

"Are you okay?" Piper questioned.

A hint of a smile crossed Prue's features. "Yeah, I'm okay…" She assured them but her smile faded a little. "Andy stopped him. Can you ask him to make sure that guy's really gone?"

"Sure thing. I'll go do that right now." Phoebe offered. By this time, doctors were pouring in and had noticed the two women that weren't supposed to be in the room. "We'll see you in a minute." She promised as she and Piper were ushered out.

~PO4~

Late afternoon the next day, Prue had been moved to a regular room and was finally allowed to have visitors. Obviously the restrictions against visitors hadn't stopped her sisters so nothing much changed except they weren't shooed out every ten minutes. Prue was sitting up in her bed reading a magazine when Piper and Phoebe crashed a trolley of flowers into the edge of the door. One of the vases fell over and Phoebe made a desperate grab for it, almost letting it drop in her laughter.

"Knock, knock." Phoebe called cheerfully, standing the vase back up.

Prue grinned and slammed her magazine shut, willing her sisters closer since everyone got mad at her if she tried to get up. "Please tell me you guys are here to pick me up." Prue pleaded as the other two Halliwell sisters began spreading the flowers out around the room in decoration.

"No, Dr. Black said, one more day. Just to be sure." Piper reminded her, coming to sit at the foot of Prue's bed.

"Yeah, and you know, it wouldn't kill you to get some rest." Phoebe pointed out and then realized what she had said. "You know with all that studying and magazine work." She clarified, trying to skate around reminded Prue of the Dream Sorcerer.

Piper quickly jumped to help cover Phoebe's slip. "By the way, we talked to your teacher about rescheduling that test and Phoebe told off Hannah for thrusting all that work onto you. She even took it up with Rex who gave his sincerest apologies and promised that he would make sure the situation didn't happen again." Piper added.

Phoebe nodded, appearing quite proud of herself. "So you obviously didn't lose your job and I was hired for the advice columnist this morning." She announced.

"You'll do great." Prue replied in certainty. "Thanks for the flowers!" Prue gratified with a smile around the room at all the flowers.

Phoebe smiled and sat down on Prue's right side of the bed "Yeah." Piper laughed, causing Prue to narrow her eyes and the other Phoebe to giggle.

"What is it?" Prue whined, acutely aware that she was missing something.

Phoebe laughed a little more before explaining. "Well, lot's of guys sent us flowers because of the spell, but we reversed it last night before our house overflow with them. We brought some here obviously, some we donated to other random rooms in here, and some are still littering our house."

Prue nodded in understanding. "What about the guys?" She asked curiously.

"Piper called Jack…" Phoebe began and Prue's attention shifted to Piper.

"The guy you had dinner with…?" Prue wondered.

Piper gave a slight nod. "… And he didn't remember anything. So Phoebe called Hans." Piper responded pleasantly, the attention then shifting to Phoebe.

"And he didn't remember anything." Phoebe finished.

"So, don't worry. Everything is back to normal." Piper added cheerfully and Prue nodded, happy with the results.

"Afternoon, Ladies. Surprise!" Andy interrupted the conversation dramatically, carrying a rose and a bag of take-away food, much better than hospital food.

The three sisters looked up, smiling in surprise. "Hey, Andy." Prue greeted with a slight wave.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows at Andy curiously. "What was the verdict?" She questioned as Andy walked forward to stand next to Prue.

"He won't be getting out." Andy assured her. He glanced a little nervously at Phoebe before Piper grabbed hold of Phoebe's arm.

"Come on, Phoebe. Let's go." Piper suggested.

"Okay. Bye, Prue, Andy." Phoebe called following Piper as she realized they could use the alone time.

"We'll see you later tonight." Piper promised, turning back a moment.

Phoebe attempted to linger behind to watch Andy and Prue. "Be nice with my sister." She added before Piper grabbed her hands and pulled her along.

Andy waved to the sisters, sat down next to Prue's bed, and gave her the take-away bag. "I brought your favorite." He told her while she opened it and looked in.

"Ooh… cheeseburgers and fries." She stated longingly.

"I'm glad to see every bone in your body's not broken." Andy commented lightly with a laugh.

Prue glanced up at him curious at his choice of words. Phoebe hadn't told her how much he knew about everything. Just that Andy's mentor had put the guy in jail after they IDed him from the sketch Phoebe had given them. "What?" She asked, attempting to find out.

"The car accident. Never mind." Andy backtracked, giving Prue the rose and kissing her gently on the cheek. Phoebe and Piper, who had lingered despite Piper trying to leave, smiled and giggled at the Prue-Andy scene before they finally turned and left.


	4. The Fourth Sister-1

_A/N: So I've had a lot of pm's requesting I update this and I've actually had this part of it written for quite awhile thus I decided I should post it. I just don't have the inspiration at the moment to finish writing the part although I'm trying very hard so please if you have time review or pm me to drop some encouragement or it might take me another year lol._

_I'm going to try writing it in halfs and see if that makes it any faster to update. Bare with me as I try and find a balance._

_Thanks for reading!_

**The Fourth Sister**

**Aviva's Room**

Aviva left her closet carrying a small statue that she carefully placed in the middle of the rug in front of her. She sat down amidst the many black candles that formed a circle around her room. As she moved into a meditative position one of the candles flickered and died. Aviva picked up the lighter and relit it before holding her hands out, palm up, and beginning to chant.

"Come to me, Kali. I conjure thee, Kali. Come to me, Kali. I conjure thee, Kali," she slowly chanted, her eyes tightly closed in concentration. The mirror glowed a faint color of blue for a moment as a woman's figure appeared instead of a reflection.

"I'm here, Aviva," Kali called in greeting.

Aviva opened her eyes and smiled at her mentor in relief. "It's been over a week," Aviva responded, her voice cracking in her relief of finding Kali. She had begun to think Kali had ditched her.

"I know. Be patient, Aviva," Kali replied in a pampering voice.

"But I've done everything that you've asked. I've followed the Halliwell sisters. I know their every move," Aviva pointed out with the typical impatience of a teenager. She looked pleadingly into the mirror at Kali.

"Which will all become valuable in good time. You must trust me. You must make them want you as badly as you want them," Kali answered slowly to the teenager.

Aviva looked away toward her closet in her disappointment, but obediently let the subject drop. "I talked to my mom today," she admitted with a faint smile while looking back toward Kali. She didn't have anyone else to talk to and she didn't want Kali to leave so soon.

"How is she?" Kali asked feigning interest in Aviva's mother.

"I don't know. She's better… I think. I miss her," Aviva replied in optimism for her mother's health.

"She's going to be so proud of you," Kali announced, causing Aviva to smile hopefully at Kali.

"Yeah? I hope so," Aviva whispered, her eyes glowing at the thought of having her mother back.

Kali smiled encouragingly and decided it was best to put her plan into motion. "Are you ready to receive your power?" Kali questioned temptingly.

Aviva smiled and giggled wondering what power she was going to be given. "You know I am," she countered, bouncing a little in her excitement.

"Remember, it's a sacred power. If I give it to you, you must use it only as I say," Kali reminded Aviva who nodded eagerly in understanding.

"I will. I promise," Aviva agreed hastily.

"Very well. Reach for the mirror. Put out your hands. Feel the power," Kali instructed. Aviva hesitated but a moment before holding her hands out toward the mirror. Her hands began to glow and she closed her eyes, feeling the power course through her. After several long moments the glow disappeared and she dropped her hands to her side, looking up at Kali expectantly. "You know what to do. Go to Phoebe, Piper, Paige, and Prue," she ordered. Aviva immediately jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket off the door to her closet before leaving her room. As the door closed, the mirror changed from a soft blue to the bright colors of flames with Kali in the middle, appearing much more intimidating then she had been with Aviva.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper sat in the conservatory holding a bunch of 'REWARD' flyers for Kit. She was flipping absent-mindedly through them when Leo walked in and made his way to the fireplace in front of her. Piper smiled to herself and set the flyers aside as he leaned down to take a look in the fireplace.

"Uh… well, I think I see… yep. There's definitely something here," Leo announced, mostly to himself as he stuck a flashlight up the chimney.

"Definitely…" Piper agreed to herself, checking Leo out as he was engaged with the fireplace.

Phoebe followed Leo into the conservatory with a mug of coffee and didn't miss the way Piper was watching Leo. She nodded her head at Leo for Piper to make a move, earning a shake of the head from Piper. Phoebe rolled her eyes and decided she needed to take things into her own hands. "Morning, Leo, what's with the fireplace?" she asked casually.

Piper narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "He's looking for Kit," Piper explained since Leo was busy.

Phoebe nodded dramatically. "Right, the cat, and, um, who's idea was it to check for Kit in the fireplace?" Phoebe questioned, knowing very well that it was Piper's.

"Cat's are notorious for getting themselves into places they shouldn't be. You wouldn't believe how many I've had to rescue from a fireplace," Leo answered as he came out from under it. Phoebe raised her eyebrows at how he backed Piper up. "Yours isn't one of them though. Sorry, how about the shelter," he suggested with a look to Piper who was slightly red-faced.

Piper stubbornly refused to meet Phoebe's eyes. "I tried. Nothing," she sighed.

"Well, she had her collar on, right? With your number on it and everything?" Leo offered optimistically.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll turn up in no time," Phoebe agreed.

Leo leaned down to pick up his tools and Phoebe caught Piper's eyes and subtly nodded at him. Piper shook her head as she had previously but Phoebe placed her hands on her hips dramatically. Piper suddenly smiled as Leo stood back up and was facing her. "Anyways… Uh, thanks for looking. I'm sure you must be hungry after all that work," Piper tried, glancing at Phoebe for approval.

Phoebe was nodding emphatically but unnoticed by Leo. "All what work?" Leo joked.

"Oh, that's just Piper," Phoebe explained. She walked up to stand next to Piper and put her arm around her younger sister's shoulder. "She's such a sweetheart," she added.

Leo smiled a little while Piper just looked a little awkwardly at Phoebe. "Um, well, I am starving," Leo admitted. "Let me just go put up these flyers and I'll be right back, okay?" He took the flyers from Piper and headed out. In his distraction, he nearly tripped over the fireplace screen that he had moved earlier.

"Oh, careful," Phoebe called.

"Are you alright?" Piper asked with concern lacing her voice.

Leo ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah… I'll just…" Leo began but trailed off as he moved the screen back in front of the fireplace where no one else would trip over it.

"Antique," Piper added while biting her lip slightly.

"Grandma's," Phoebe finished as Leo left. Piper and Phoebe both turned to watch him leave, checking him out as he left. "I approve," she stated after a moment.

Piper rolled her eyes slightly. "You know, for being able to pick up a guy in five minutes, you sure are awful at helping someone else," she pointed out.

"It's the thought that counts, Piper," Phoebe argued lightly.

Piper couldn't refrain from smiling just a little. "Appreciated but maybe you should stop," she suggested.

Phoebe smirked and wrapped her arm around Piper's shoulder. "Well, then, maybe you should make a move quicker," she retorted with a slight laugh in her voice.

~PO3~

Outside the Manor, Leo was hanging up the flyers for Kit on the nearby signposts. Aviva sat in her car looking for an opportunity to meet the Halliwells. As Leo left to walk farther down the street, her eyes focused on the flyer. She narrowed her eyes and the flyer caught fire. She grinned, recognizing the perfect opportunity.

[Opening Credits]

Piper moved through the kitchen preparing a cinnamon roll and a glass of milk for Leo as he began to work on the walls of the Manor. She made her way to the Foyer where Leo was already on a ladder, preparing to remove the stain from the walls.

"Here you go, Leo. Non-fat milk, right?" Piper asked cheerfully, setting the plate on top of the ladder and handing him the glass of milk.

"Right, thanks," Leo answered with a nod.

Piper smiled and took a few steps back. "No, problem. How's it going?" she asked with a slight nod at the wall he was working on. Before he could reply, the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs alerted Piper to her sisters and she found her attention on them.

"Trust me. One hot night is all you guys need to get back on track," Phoebe was saying just before both she and Prue entered the Foyer.

"Are you sure, Pheebs? 'Cause he's getting really suspicious," Prue admitted uncertainly.

Phoebe nodded assurance. "Look, Andy's a college/cop intern and you're a college witch…" Piper coughed pointedly as they came within hearing range. Luckily, Leo hadn't seemed to notice the 'witch' word. Phoebe just smiled over at Piper and Leo before leaning over to Prue. "Expect complications," she added under her breath.

"Hi, Leo," Prue greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Prue," Leo returned before glancing between Piper and Phoebe. "Um, this wall only needs two coats and then I gotta do the molding and then I'm done," he explained while waving his hand at the wall he was currently working on.

Phoebe glanced over at Piper and then looked at the wall thoughtfully. "Are you sure it doesn't need three coats?"

"Uh," Leo mumbled. He stepped down from the ladder and backed up so he could get a better view of the wall.

Prue watched as Phoebe and Piper seemed to have silent argument. She followed their gaze to Leo and she tilted her head slightly to the side while she heard the words "will you stop it" and "I don't need help" coming from Piper. "Pheebs, I need more Andy advice," Prue called but was seemingly ignored. She crossed her arms across her chest before stalking forward and grabbing her eldest sister's arm. "Phoebe!" she hissed and then dragged Phoebe toward the kitchen.

Phoebe reluctantly followed so that Piper and Leo were left alone in the foyer. "What? We've already gone over everything for Andy," Phoebe pointed out irritably.

"Piper didn't want your help," Prue countered with a roll of her eyes. "Just leave her to deal with it," she insisted.

Phoebe glanced back behind her. "Was there any reason we came to the kitchen?" she demanded.

Prue appeared slightly hurt at Phoebe's raised voice. "Well, I was going to ask you something not Andy related," Prue admitted but didn't make any attempt to explain. Instead, she kept her focus on pouring her coffee without spilling it.

"Okay, what is it?" Phoebe prompted, more curious than she had been to begin with. Prue hesitated and kept her eyes on the coffee. Phoebe sighed in frustration. "Prue, spit it out. What were you going to ask?" she pressed.

"Okay, fine," Prue mumbled while picking at her cuticles nervously. "Um, there's this showing at the Magazine Studio. My first one and it's starting tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come," she explained in such a way that it was quite obvious that she was hoping Phoebe would.

Phoebe looked taken aback that her little sister wanted her anywhere around her work. "Oh, sweetie, I work tonight. Is it showing any other day?" she questioned.

"Tomorrow night at 8:00," Prue answered.

"I'll be there," Phoebe promised after a quick moment of contemplation. She couldn't help but smile when Prue couldn't quite hide her pleasure. "When's your next date with Andy?" Phoebe asked curiously.

"Mm… this weekend, but he's coming over tonight after the showing to watch a movie," Prue explained. "Of course, we don't know what movie we're going to watch…"

Phoebe nodded thoughtfully. "That's okay. You probably won't watch the movie anyways," she pointed out.

"Give me a little credit, Phoebe," Prue mumbled, blushing slightly at the comment although whether it was from embarrassment or anger was hard to tell. "I've gotta get to class. Can you ask Piper for me?" she questioned hopefully.

"Sure, drive carefully," Phoebe called after her as Prue grabbed her school bag and camera case off the floor. She remained silent and continued to watch where Prue had left for a generous amount of time, wondering if just maybe she and Prue were beginning to patch things up. Phoebe couldn't really pinpoint a particular moment in the last couple of months when she and Prue had started to work things out but she did know that Prue never would have wanted her to come see her showing before. She smiled, determined to keep her younger sister's trust this time around. And it all started with the showing… whatever it even was.

**Aviva's Room**

Aviva irritably slammed the door to her room, her eyes flickering over to look at her book bag which remained untouched from the previous day. Not yet ready to enter the personal Hell of school she flipped her stereo on, turned the volume so loud that the objects on her dresser vibrated from the sound waves, and flopped onto her bed. Aviva reached down and grabbed her diary out from under her bed and turned her attention to the next clean page in the small book.

"Dear Diary…" she began just as her Aunt Jackie knocked loudly on her door.

"Aviva, open the door!" her Aunt called over the blaring music.

Aviva didn't even look up in acknowledgement and kept writing. "Life sucks here," she continued with a roll of her eyes. Such an understatement.

"I'm going to be late for work!" Aunt Jackie added, her frustration causing her voice to rise another pitch. Without waiting for any response, Aunt Jackie opened the door.

Aviva jumped slightly and slammed her diary closed, so as not to let her Aunt read her secrets. She quickly slid the diary back under her bed and jumped up into a sitting position. "So, that part about this being **my **room, that was a lie?" Aviva challenged while her Aunt stared in disbelief at her niece.

"It's my apartment, Aviva," she pointed out mildly.

"So you keep reminding me, Aunt Jackie," the teenager retorted coldly to her current guardian.

Aunt Jackie took a few deep breaths to calm herself recognizing Aviva's hostility was about to erupt into another argument. "Why don't you get some light and air in here?" Aunt Jackie asked, changing the subject to Aviva's sparsely lit bedroom. She turned and made her way to the window behind her about to push it up when Aviva's voice froze her in her steps.

"Because I like it dark and stale," she snapped standing up and crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.

Aunt Jackie turned slowly to face Aviva, who raised her eyebrows expecting a confrontation. "Why are you so antagonistic to me?" she questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Why haven't you called my mom yet?" Aviva wondered, her voice switching from the defiant and challenging teenager to an upset adolescent.

"What?" Aunt Jackie demanded, not expecting that response to say the least.

"To see how she's doing or just say 'hello?' It would help you know. I mean, it's not like she's got a lot of family," Aviva explained to her Aunt's puzzled expression. Her voice had a hint of an accusation under everything else.

"She has got to take responsibility for her own actions," Aunt Jackie replied, crossing her arms across her chest.

"She's not in jail. She's in rehab. She didn't do anything wrong to take responsibility for. She's sick and that's it. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Aviva countered, her voice rising.

"Whatever," Aunt Jackie snapped, turning on her heel and stalking out of her niece's room. Aviva followed her to slam the door shut behind her and locking it so her Aunt couldn't get back in. She spun back around and reached again for her diary.

**Golden State University**

Andy met Prue for lunch at the university where they ate before walking through campus to the college library. Just inside the entrance, Prue veered to the left and led him to the video room. There were movies of all kinds that were popular with the college students lined up. The room was empty so Prue dropped her bag and camera at one of the tables and then searched for a movie.

"So all of these movies are free?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, for two days unless we break it or something. Just have to check it out," Prue answered while she invariably made her way to the romantic movies.

Andy, of course, went in the opposite direction to the action movies and started looking. He grinned when he found one of his favorite movies which he doubted Prue had ever seen but would probably enjoy. "Ever seen Lethal Dead 3?" Andy called, holding the movie up and simultaneously spinning to find her.

Prue glanced over at him and stared as if he was crazy. "I'm sure this is a stupid question but is there any romance in that?" she inquired. She was fairly positive what the answer was (the name said it all) but she figured she'd ask at least.

Andy frowned as he looked at it and silently put it back in it's place. "No," he mumbled sheepishly before scanning the action movies for one that had a little romance (very little) in it.

"Hey," Prue interrupted Andy's search. She pulled out a movie which she knew for a fact that the two main characters shoot each other (which is violent) but also had her romance scenes in it. "How about Double Indemnity?" she suggested cheerfully.

Andy glanced around the room to make sure it was still empty. "It's black and white," he mouthed to her as if it would ruin him if someone heard him say it much less consider watching it. Oh the horror!

"Right," Prue realized before sticking the movie back in its spot. When she was sure Andy wasn't looking, she rolled her bluish-grey eyes. This dance continued for several minutes before Prue threw her hands in the air and returned to her stuff. "This is hopeless, Andy," she pointed out.

"Why don't we just close our eyes and pick one?" Andy offered.

Prue narrowed her eyes a little. "Andy…"

Andy turned to face her when it once again sounded like Prue wasn't all that interested. "Are you avoiding me, Prue?" Andy asked in a surprisingly serious voice.

"Why would you think that?" Prue questioned, genuinely confused.

Andy shrugged and left the movies to join Prue at the table. "Maybe because you're always running off to do something," he admitted. He leaned across the table so that they were a tad closer. "And then when you come back you've broken something or you're being stalked…"

"We've been through this, Andy," Prue reminded him.

"Yeah, but we've never actually gotten to the answering part," Andy countered. He narrowed his eyes, the thought that had been plaguing him for awhile now suddenly brought forth. "Who keeps hurting you?" Andy inquired.

Prue's eyes widened as she realized what he was thinking. "No one's hurting me, I promise," she insisted nervously.

"No one's hurting you but every time I see you, there's a new bruise or cut that you can't explain?" Andy prompted.

Prue played absently with a strand of her dark hair. "It's not what you think…"

"Then enlighten me," Andy replied but Prue made no move to do that. "Prue…" he tried again.

Prue avoided eye contact and jumped down from her seat. "You know, if we're going to get you back to the station on time, we really should pick a movie," Prue rambled in the hopes that he would drop the subject again.

Andy reluctantly let her change the subject although it only made him more determined to find out what was really going on. He couldn't help but smile a little when Prue took his earlier advice and closed her eyes and pulled out a random movie. "What's the verdict?" Andy asked.

A smile returned to Prue's face when he didn't press for more information. "Body Heat," she read.

"Sounds perfect," Andy admitted.

Prue flashed him a mischievious smirk and walked right up to him so that they were barely an inch apart. "What part sounded perfect?" she wondered.

Andy's answer was to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her flush against him, taking advantage of the empty room to have a full-blown make-out session.

**Aviva's Room**

Aviva was once again sitting in front of the mirror as she summoned her mentor again. "I conjure thee, Kali," she chanted as the mirror began to glow the soft blue and Kali appeared in the reflection.

"I'm here, Aviva," Kali assured the adolescent who looked up at her hopefully.

"I'm going crazy here, Kali. I can't wait any longer," Aviva pleaded with innocent impatience. Her eyes never left the mirror as she silently hoped Kali would let her begin her mission.

"The Halliwells don't understand our way. They don't know the full uses and joys of their powers," Kali warned slowly.

"I'll show them," Aviva promised, not fully understanding the problem.

"You must gain their trust first. You must let them welcome you into their coven," Kali continued while Aviva nodded quickly.

"I won't disappoint you. I swear," the young witch announced. She had a feeling this was it. She was about to begin.

"Then it's time," Kali began, her face splitting into a wide grin. The door to the closet opened beside Aviva who quickly looked inside to find Kit the cat. She eagerly picked the cat up and turned back to face Kali. "Take the cat back to the Halliwells," Kali instructed.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Piper peeked nervously around the corner of the door toward where Leo was finishing up staining the wall. She self-consciously played with her hair, making sure it looked nice before stepping out toward Leo. "'Bout done for the day?" she asked pleasantly, making her way carefully around the furniture between them. She had a slight bounce in her step in an effort to keep from looking nervous in front of him.

"Just about," Leo replied while casting a glance and a half-smile at the Halliwell sister.

"Uh, well, Prue's boyfriend is coming over so it's probably best if we clear out," Piper explained, using her sister as an excuse. It didn't matter to Prue one way or another as long as she and Andy weren't interrupted but it sounded good for Piper's purpose. She took a deep breath to clear her nerves before she continued. "I was thinking about catching a movie, wanna go?" Piper held her breath nervously for an answer.

"I can't do it," Leo lamented, stepping back and staring at the wall.

Piper's heart sank but she felt more than a little annoyed at the harshness of his answer and the fact that he pushed past her, still staring at the wall. He wouldn't even look at her! "Okay…" Piper muttered turning slightly to watch him walk to the other side of the door frame.

"You know… These are original to the house. I mean, they really should be sanded down, finished off with steel wool, and… and re-stained. Not covered in paint," Leo finally elaborated, glancing back to look at Piper while putting his hand on the door frame.

Piper quickly realized he had been talking about the walls the whole time and felt a little better. "Oh, right. Kinda like making risotto with minute rice," she realized with a slight nod. Leo chuckled at how she chose to relate the information to although he didn't really understand it himself. Piper seemed to notice because she rushed to explain a little. "Cooking analogy."

"Yeah," Leo laughed. Piper joined in a little awkwardly, but he didn't seem to notice and continued. "Anyway, uh, I have some stain samples at home if you're interested. I can bring them by tomorrow and show them to you and your sisters."

Piper frowned at the idea of having Prue and Phoebe listen through paint samples. Not to mention, Phoebe would be bugging her the whole time about Leo. No, she'd rather avoid that. "Or better yet, why don't you just bring them by the restaurant? Say about lunchtime? Prue is really busy with her magazine showing and Phoebe doesn't really care. She's more into stucco," Piper suggested hopefully. She figured Phoebe owed her for the awkwardness Phoebe had made that morning between her and Leo.

"Okay," Leo agreed softly.

"Okay," Piper repeated, settling the matter.

"So what time's that movie?" Leo asked curiously. Piper broke into a huge smile, but didn't have time to reply before the door bell rang catching her train of thought.

"I got it!" Phoebe called from the conservatory as she made her way to the front door. She opened it to find Aviva on the front steps holding Kit tightly against her. "Kit! Oh my god, where did you find her? We were worried sick," Phoebe exclaimed, quickly taking Kit from Aviva in her excitement.

Aviva smiled slightly at the reception. So far so good for her. "I was just walking by and I, um, saw one of your flyers and poof. There she was. Like magic," Aviva answered, purposely throwing in the 'magic' part and watching for a reaction.

Phoebe laughed nervously and ushered Aviva into their house before closing the door behind the teenager. "Wow. I can't even believe she let you hold her," Phoebe whispered as Aviva looked around the house in fascination until Phoebe herded her into the conservatory.

Piper exchanged a glance with Leo before she hurried into the conservatory to see what the commotion was about. She rushed forward even faster when her eyes landed on Kit. "Welcome home, Kitty!" Piper exclaimed just as enthusiastically as Phoebe had. Phoebe laughed and passed Kit over to Piper's waiting hands. Leo entered behind Piper as she pulled Kit up against her. "Oh, you must be starving," she guessed sympathetically.

"I fed her," Aviva announced while sitting down on the couch.

Phoebe sat down beside her on the arm of the couch. "I thought you said you just found her," Phoebe pointed out.

"I did. Oh, um, a couple of hours ago, I mean," Aviva clarified hastily.

"And she didn't try to scratch you?" Piper questioned curiously. She was a little surprised when Aviva shook her head. Kit was usually very touchy with people.

"You know, I'll take the flyers down tomorrow. Let me, uh, clean up before the movie," Leo stated with a look over at Piper.

Phoebe looked up quickly, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Movie? What movie?" she demanded, her eyes flickering from Leo to Piper before resting on her younger sister.

"A war movie," Piper replied, a hint of a warning in her voice.

"Ooh! Nice choice, Pipe," Phoebe approved which made Piper drop her head into her arms in frustration.

Leo was too much of a gentleman to comment and just said. "I'll be right back." He left for the stairs where he could borrow the bathroom for a moment.

As soon as he was gone, Piper made sure that Phoebe didn't miss her glare. Aviva's voice interrupted the sister moment. "You guys aren't going out are you?" Aviva asked. She couldn't have them leaving yet when she needed to talk to them. "I mean, you just got your cat back," she pointed out, snatching at anything she could to keep them in the house.

"Oh, she'll be fine. Let me get my purse," Piper answered hastily, sitting Kit down and running to get her purse.

"No, Pipe, I got it this time," Phoebe argued so that Piper stopped mid step. "You use your money for your date," Phoebe added. She searched her purse for several minutes before she pulled out her checkbook and turned to Aviva. "Uh, what's your name?"

"Oh, no, no. I don't want your money," Aviva exclaimed when she realized what they were doing. Before anything else could be said, the sound of the front door opening and closing was heard and Prue and Andy walked into the house.

Prue looked a little surprised at finding everyone congregated in the conservatory especially with a teenager that she didn't know. "Hi," Prue greeted uncertainly.

"Prue, look who it is," Piper drew the youngest Halliwell's attention to their formerly missing family member.

Prue turned to Piper and smiled wide when she noticed Kit in Piper's arms. "Oh, sweetheart, you came back," Prue gushed. She ran forward and pulled Kit to her.

"Hey, Andy." Phoebe waved pleasantly.

"Hey," Andy returned. He lowered his hand to pet Kit when Prue came back over to him, obviously expecting him to give the cat some affection.

"I was just about to leave to finish some of my column when she came in with Kit. Found her. Isn't that great?" Phoebe prompted with a grateful smile to Aviva.

Prue's eyes flickered between Phoebe and Aviva before resting on the teenager. She didn't appear impressed. "Yeah, uh…"

"Aviva," the adolescent introduced herself.

"Right," Prue stated with a tense nod.

Andy seemed to notice how Prue tensed and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her elder sisters didn't miss it either so Phoebe returned to her checkbook. "So, fifty bucks?" Phoebe suggested, already starting to fill out the check.

Aviva stood up, apparently a little nervous now that Prue was in the room and obviously wasn't very taken by her. "Uh, I don't- I don't want a reward. We need to talk," she explained while playing with her hands.

Piper and Phoebe exchanged a curious glance but Prue beat them to speaking. "About what?" she asked.

"About Wicca," Aviva answered.

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly cold as ice. Andy felt Prue tense even more but he was more preoccupied with what Aviva had said. Piper and Phoebe glanced at each other again and then at Andy with a hint of worry in their eyes. Prue searched frantically for something to distract Andy with and it came in the form of Leo who was coming back for Piper.

"Uh, Andy, have you met Leo yet? This is Leo, Andy, Leo. You guys, chat," Prue suggested, shoving Andy in Leo's general direction.

Phoebe and Piper grabbed Aviva and pulled her to the other side of the room while Prue stalked over to join them. Andy and Leo politely shook hands but their attention remained on the four girls.

Piper continued to herd Aviva to the back door. "Okay, thanks again," Piper offered just before Prue joined them.

"Yeah, you need to leave," Prue agreed, waving her hand for Aviva to get moving.

Aviva appeared stunned at the sudden change in the Halliwell sisters. "I'm… not leaving. Don't you understand? I'm one of you," she tried to explain. Seeing their uncertainty she decided to prove it. Aviva pointed toward Andy at the popcorn in his hand. The bag of popcorn began to pop on its own, filling up and catching the attention of both guys.

"Piper!" Phoebe hissed. Piper seemed to understand and threw a hand out to freeze the popcorn before bringing her hands up to her face nervously.

Prue just looked furious and Aviva stumbled back a few steps as Prue's telekinesis activated. "Don't use magic on my boyfriend!" Prue snapped.

Aviva returned the glare and held her hand out only for Phoebe to cut inbetween them. "Wait, stop it, both of you," Phoebe ordered sternly. Aviva hesitated but Prue didn't appear to take heed of Phoebe's command so Phoebe purposely placed a hand over Prue's eyes in an attempt to keep her telekinesis from activating.

Prue slapped Phoebe's hand away from her and spun on her eldest sister. "She just tried to blow Andy up!"

"She did not. In case you didn't notice, Andy is perfectly fine," Phoebe retorted. Aviva snorted at the remark, drawing Prue's angry gaze back on her.

Piper hastily grabbed Prue's hands and turned the younger Halliwell to face her. "Prue, look at me."

Prue stomped her feet childishly but obeyed Piper who started whispering something to her while Phoebe faced Aviva. "You didn't freeze so that makes you…"

"A witch. I'm a witch too," Aviva finished her train of thought.

"More like a demon," Prue cut in.

"Prue, what did I just say?" Piper demanded in exasperation.

Aviva snickered again, more because she knew Prue would get mad than because it was actually funny. Phoebe just rolled her eyes at their childishness. "Can I ask what you wanted?" Phoebe inquired quickly.

"I just want to be friends," Aviva insisted, putting on her most well-behaved face for Phoebe and completely ignoring Piper and Prue.

"Should have thought of that before you tried to blow up my boyfriend," Prue muttered but it went unnoticed for the most part.

Piper glanced over at the frozen Andy and Leo. "Uh, Pheebs, we have about twenty seconds before they unfreeze. We really need to move things along here," she pointed out.

Phoebe looked torn for a moment as she glanced between Prue and Piper and Aviva. Finally she sighed and faced Aviva. "Look, now isn't a good time. You need to leave," she decided.

Aviva's jaw dropped in surprise at the sudden rejection when things seemed to have been going okay (with the big exception of Prue). "What? Why?" she demanded.

"Because we don't know who the hell you really are. So just go, get," Prue replied harshly.

Aviva's temper rose dramatically. "No, I'm not leaving! I just saved your cat," Aviva snapped, turning on Prue.

"You're probably the one that stole her in the first place," Prue argued.

Aviva's answer was to glare at the movie in Prue's hands which melted and forced Prue to drop it or suffer severe burns.

"Okay, that's it. Everyone calm down," Phoebe yelled, her patience with the teenager and her just-out-of-teenage-years sister at its end. Without another word, Aviva spun on her heel and stalked out of the room.

"Prue, give me your hands," Piper whispered in horror.

"Forget that, what's the matter with you?" Phoebe demanded to Prue. Prue looked slightly hurt but channeled it straight into anger. The room unfroze before any arguing could erupt and popcorn exploded throughout the room.

Andy looked at the busted bag of popcorn in confusion. "What the hell?" he asked while Piper looked guilty and Phoebe frowned. "Prue?" he called when he noticed how upset she suddenly looked. He could swear she hadn't been that upset before. Although, before what exactly he couldn't say.

"Hey, where did that girl go?" Leo wondered which caused Andy to look around in confusion as it was brought to his attention.

"She left," Prue snapped and then yanked her blistered hands out of Piper's. She shoved past the two men on her way to the kitchen. Andy hesitated and glanced suspiciously over at Piper and Phoebe before he followed her.

**Aviva's Room**

"Why wouldn't they accept me? You said if I brought them back their cat…" Aviva was explaining what had happened at the Halliwell Manor to Kali.

Kali, listening closely, interrupted the young teenager when she put together what had gone wrong. "Was it the youngest? Was it Prue that sent you away?" Kali questioned calmly.

"Yes," Aviva hissed shortly. She narrowed her eyes at just the thought of Prue.

"Avoid her. She's hardly worth the trouble. You must separate them. Together they are Charmed. Impenetrable," Kali explained gently to the broken down Aviva.

"But what if they don't want me?" Aviva whispered dejectedly.

"Phoebe will. In her own way she's searching for someone like you. Someone to share her witch craft with," Kali informed. Aviva thought the idea over, but couldn't seem to find the inspiration to believe her mentor. "What's the problem?" Kali asked, recognizing the look.

"I… I don't know," Aviva answered, shaking her head in confusion.

"You're the one who came to me, remember? You're the one who wanted… sisters…" Kali reminded Aviva coldly.

"I know. I want a family. I don't have anybody…" Aviva admitted. She trailed off with a sigh when a question popped up that had been nagging at her in the back of her mind. "What do you get out of it? I mean, you know, you never really said…" she wondered a little reluctantly. She wasn't sure if Kali would get mad at the question or not.

"Halliwell magic is old and powerful, and I want it. And since they're new to the craft, if I'm ever going to get it, it has to be now… through you. Just do as I say, Aviva. Make Phoebe covet your power, make her care for you, then we'll both get what we want," Kali instructed.

**Andy's Apartment**

Prue stumbled into Andy's small dining room and dropped into one of the seats while hiding her face from the light. Andy turned away from the stove where he was cooking breakfast and brought her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Prue mumbled absently.

Andy didn't say anything but took the hand closest to him and flipped it over so he could look at the blisters. Blisters that he had absolutely no idea how they got there.

Prue slowly pulled her hand out of his so he'd quit looking at it. "It's nothing," she insisted.

"Nothing?" Andy repeated in disbelief. He sighed and sat down across from her. "Want to talk about it yet?" he asked.

Prue shook her head. "Not really," Prue replied.

"Okay," Andy allowed, standing up and returning to the stove.

Prue dropped her head into her arms, acutely aware that Andy was now also mad at her. Even if he wouldn't say it out loud. "Look, I want to tell you. You have to believe me," she exclaimed.

Andy's gaze shifted back over to her. "Then just explain…" he suggested only for Prue to drop her eyes back to the table. "…some," Andy amended.

"Just forget it, Andy. I've gotta go to school," Prue stated while slipping out of her seat.

"You don't have class today," Andy pointed out, immediately feeling a little guilty at pushing her when she was obviously upset about something. It didn't quite dissipate all off his irritation however.

"I'll go take pictures or something," Prue argued without looking at him.

Andy caught her elbow before she could make it out the door. "Prue…"

Prue spun on him and she had to work to make sure her telekinesis didn't go off by accident. "I cannot explain anything. I'm sorry but I can't change it." She looked away hastily to try and regain control of her emotions.

"I don't want you to change," Andy insisted, lowering his voice to calm Prue a little. He fell silent for a minute during which he took her hands again. "Since I've come back, you got into a fight with that Roger guy which left you with a sprained wrist and he gave you a serious blow, you've actually broken that said wrist when that photographer attacked you, you were stalked and in a car accident… what do you want me say, Prue? I was there and I don't know how this happened and it's driving me insane," he explained, gently turning her hands over. Prue opened her mouth to say something but Andy held his hand up for her to stay quiet. "No, let's just drop the subject… have breakfast," Andy suggested. It wasn't like he was going to get an answer anyways, right?

"Okay," Prue agreed, letting him lead her back to the table.

Prue had just taken her seat back at the table when Andy turned the stove off and glanced back at her. "You know, maybe we should go out to eat," Andy decided with a half-smile.

"You burnt the food," Prue teased.

"Actually, **you** burnt the food because it would have been fine had you not tried to run off on me," Andy argued lightly, their earlier tiff forgotten.

Prue stood up from her seat again and followed Andy out the door.

**The Halliwell Manor**

Phoebe sat at the kitchen table where she was reading the newspaper and scribbling notes down on a notepad while Piper was finishing up breakfast. Phoebe found her gaze shifting to the seat that was usually occupied by Prue. She let out a sigh which caught Piper's attention.

"If you're worried why don't you call?" Piper asked pointedly. Phoebe made an indiscernible grunt and focused harder on the newspaper. Piper smirked a little and sat down next to Phoebe. "She's not going to be upset to know you're worried…"

"Piper, shut up," Phoebe replied distantly.

"Fine, go back to your newspaper," Piper allowed. She stood back up and walked back to the oven.

Phoebe suddenly slammed her pencil down on the table. "What even happened last night?" she demanded in frustration. "Between Prue and Aviva and…"

"You?" Piper finished.

Phoebe let out another loud sigh and nodded. "Yes, sure," she admitted and then fell silent for an explanation.

"I think Prue felt a little threatened by Aviva and you didn't acknowledge that so she lashed out," Piper answered simply.

"That makes no sense," Phoebe retorted.

Piper brought a couple of plates of toast and eggs and placed one in front of Phoebe. "Actually, it does. You admitted just yesterday that you and Prue were getting on a bit better…"

"Exactly, so why would she feel threatened now?" Phoebe inquired.

"I'm trying to tell you that," Piper replied with a good-natured roll of her eyes. "It's a new situation for the two of you and I think she expected you to back her up but, instead, you were more interested in Aviva," Piper explained.

"Yes, I was civil with Aviva. What's wrong with that?" Phoebe prompted.

Piper didn't immediately answer as she took a bite of her toast. "I'm not saying that Prue was in the right. I'm just telling you what elicited such a reaction. On top of that, Aviva's power was used a little too close to Andy for comfort and you know how she gets about him being around."

Phoebe rolled the thought over in her head and eventually nodded. "Okay, so what am I supposed to do with her?" she asked.

"Look, the damage is minimal. Just go to her showing tonight like she wanted. It'll be fine," Piper assured her.

Phoebe nodded again. "Alright. I'm going to talk to Aviva again this afternoon," she announced in a much less-stressed voice.

Piper paused in her eating and looked at Phoebe in surprise. "Why?" she questioned in surprise.

"Look, Piper, she's just a kid and potentially a witch too. She was probably sincere when she said she just wanted to be friends," Phoebe explained.

"Probably?" Piper repeated.

"I can at least find out," Phoebe insisted. "What? You'd rather we just forget about her? She might need help," she pointed out.

Piper shrugged. "Good luck convincing Prue," she replied as an answer.

Phoebe just rolled her eyes as the conversation once again switched back to their youngest sister. "Prue, just needs to realize that everything can't revolve around her all the time. I'm going to work," Phoebe decided. She grabbed her newspaper and notepad before walking out. Piper watched her leave with a look of guarded curiosity.

**The Bay Mirror**

Phoebe pinched the bridge of her nose to relieve some of the building tension as she tried to explain why her column was not complete. "Yes, of course I'm aware that there is a deadline but Elise threw out the last few pages of my column at the last minute…" she fell silent as the person on the other end of the phone began arguing. "… Oh, oh, how hard can it be to write an advice columnist? Let me show you how hard," Phoebe ranted before slamming the phone down. She let out a dramatic sigh of frustration and grabbed up a piece of paper full of questions.

_Dear Phoebe, how do I know that my pre-wedding jitters are normal or a sign that I should call things off?_

"What is wrong with my previous answer?" Phoebe inquired aloud as she reread what she had written. She rolled her eyes and decided just to change the wording of her answer as it definitely could have used a little editing.

With the last question accounted for, Phoebe saved her document and hastily printed it off. She smiled at several workers that had the printer surrounded and one of them passed her papers over. "Better hurry with that or Elise will have you," the man warned.

Phoebe laughed and nodded gratefully before walking with forced casualness through the hallways. She sure wasn't going to give Elise any satisfaction for hurrying her along.

Elise looked up from her computer as Phoebe rapped on her door. "You have my papers?" she demanded.

"Right here," Phoebe assured her while passing the column to her boss.

Elise flipped through the pages for several minutes. "Good stuff this time," Elise offered.

Phoebe waited to see if she was going to get any other words but after deciding that she wasn't, returned to her office just in time to hear her office phone ringing. "That had better not be who I think it is," she muttered under her breath. "Phoebe Halliwell," she answered in a falsely chipper voice. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the returning voice. "Aviva? How did you get this number?"


End file.
